A first case of clade 1b of the mpox virus, which is particularly prevalent in Africa, has been identified in France. This new variant is more dangerous and more transmissible than the one that caused a global pandemic in 2022.
A first case of the new mpox variant has been identified in France, the health authorities announced this Monday, January 6, who want to be reassuring about the risk of infection for the general population but remind the preventive measures for target audiences.
· A first case of clade 1b in Brittany
The Ministry of Labor and Health was informed of “a first human case of clade 1b mpox on the national territory, in Brittany. The recommended management measures have been put in place”, indicated this Monday to the AFP the Ministry of Health in a press release, confirming information from the regional daily Ouest-France.
“The reported case concerns a person who has not traveled to Central Africa, an area in which the different clades of mpox viruses have been actively circulating for several months, including clade 1b,” the press release specifies.
“This person, however, was in contact with two people returning from central Africa, investigations are underway to find the origin of the contamination and identify all the contact people,” he adds.
“It’s exactly the same technique (as for Covid)”, explains on the set of BFMTV Doctor Alain Ducardonnet, health consultant for BFMTV. We must be able to “lock the circle who has been in contact with these two people” who are returning from Central Africa, he adds.
According to Ouest-France, the woman who tested positive for mpox clade 1b lives in Brittany and was diagnosed at Rennes University Hospital. She “is doing well”, says the daily without citing a source.
Under surveillance at the hospital, a patient treated for contamination with the mpox virus generally recovers in “three to four weeks”, according to our specialist. “If there is a need for treatment, there is an antiviral drug which is possible but which is not necessarily useful.”
· The third case imported into Europe, “sporadic” contaminations expected
The ministry recalls that four countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) have identified cases of clade 1b mpox since this summer.
Two imported cases were identified, the first in Sweden last August, the other in Belgium in December. Two other indigenous cases were recorded in the United Kingdom in October and in Germany in December.
The risk of infection by Monkeypox clade 1b for the general population in France and Europe is considered low by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the press release further notes.
“But sporadic cases, linked to countries with more intense viral circulation, can occur. The occurrence of this case in France was quickly detected thanks to the surveillance system in place.”
· A more dangerous and more transmissible variant
Mpox is characterized by skin lesions, such as pustules, high fever and muscle pain. Identified for the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1970, the disease remained confined to around ten African countries for a long time.
But in 2022, the WHO triggers its highest level of global alert when mpox clade 2b, then called “monkey pox”, exceeds the borders of West Africa, and in particular Nigeria, to cause a global pandemic which has affected many Western countries including France.
Last summer, the WHO again issued a “public health emergency of international concern”, particularly due to the spread of clade 1b, which is hitting eastern DRC and neighboring countries. This new variant is more deadly, but also more transmissible than the one that caused the 2022 pandemic.
At the same time, another epidemic, caused by clade 1, affects many children in central Africa. In November, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to maintain its highest level of alert regarding the epidemic, due to the increase in cases and the countries concerned.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is by far the country most affected by this virus, formerly called “monkey pox”. In 2024, 215 cases of mpox, all due to clade 2b, were declared to Public Health France, with an average of 3 cases declared per week at the end of the year.
· The importance of vaccination
Health authorities recall the importance of vaccination for high-risk populations – including men having homosexual relationships with multiple partners, or sex workers – and as a reactive measure for contact cases.
People with close ties to Central African countries where the mpox virus is actively circulating can also be vaccinated, authorities further indicate.
“Even people who were vaccinated against monkeypox in the 1970s are protected,” emphasizes doctor Alain Ducardonnet on BFMTV.
If the available vaccines were designed to respond to the pandemic caused by clade 2b, “we expect the vaccine to be effective against the clade 1b virus even if this has not been formally demonstrated for the moment” , Olivier Schwartz of the Pasteur Institute told BFMTV.com last August.
