While a first case of the new Mpox variant has been identified in Brittany, Pierre Tattevin, the head of the infectious diseases department at Rennes University Hospital, wants to be reassuring. “We are not worried about a potential risk of transmission of the virus on a large scale,” he assures, as does infectious disease specialist Karine Lacombe, head of the infectious diseases department at Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris.
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After the confirmation of a first human case in France of the new clade 1b mpox variant in Brittany, many questions arise, particularly regarding the risk of large-scale transmission of the virus. Pierre Tattevin, head of the infectious diseases department at Rennes University Hospital, says that “the woman tested positive for mpox clade 1b, diagnosed at Rennes University Hospital, was not hospitalized. This was three weeks ago and all contact cases have been identified. We currently have no secondary case We are not worried about a potential risk of large-scale transmission of the virus, even if this new clade 1b variant is more contagious than clade 2..
To understand clearly, there are two “different epidemics”, explained on franceinfo the infectious disease specialist Karine Lacombe, head of the infectious diseases department at Saint-Antoine hospital“the one we had which was due to a variant called clade 2 which is rather native to West Africa and clade 1 in particular 1b which is native to South Africa East. These are not viruses that evolve as we have seen with Covid-19.
The infected Breton woman did not travel to Central Africa but was in contact with two people returning from this region of Africa. “The few imported cases that there have been in Europe [Suède, Allemagne, Belgique et Royaume-Uni] call for vigilance but have not triggered an epidemic. The majority of contaminations occur through skin contact, it is a contagious disease but not at all through the air. concludes Karine Lacombe.
Health authorities remind “the importance of vaccination for high-risk populations” – including men having homosexual relationships with multiple partners, or sex workers. People with close ties to Central African countries where the mpox virus is actively circulating can also be vaccinated.
