Health: A first case of the new mpox variant identified in France

A first case of the new mpox variant has been identified in France, the Ministry of Health told AFP on Monday evening in a press release, confirming information from the regional daily “Ouest-France”.

“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,” details the press release.

“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.

Fifth European country affected

The ministry recalls that four countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) have identified cases of clade 1b mpox since this summer: Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

The risk of infection by Monkeypox clade I 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.

Skin lesions, fever…

According to the daily “Ouest-France”, the woman who tested positive for mpox clade 1b is domiciled in Brittany and was diagnosed at the Rennes University Hospital. She “is doing well,” says the daily without citing a source.

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, it began to spread to the rest of the world, particularly developed countries where the virus had never circulated. Two concurrent epidemics are occurring, one caused by clade 1 in Central Africa, mainly affecting children, and another by the new variant, clade 1b, which affects adults in another region, in eastern DRC. , and in neighboring countries.

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