After several Asian countries, Sweden and Germany, it is the turn of Great Britain to report a case of the new variant of the mpox virus (or Monkeypox), better known as monkeypox (its former name). ). This is not so surprising when we know that several African countries (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, etc.) are currently strongly affected by an epidemic and two variants, one which attacks children and the other attacks adults. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, cases number in the thousands and there are already several hundred dead.
A first case in Europe reported in August
It was in Sweden in August this year that the first case of monkeypox detected outside Africa was reported.
Since then, several cases have been recorded in Europe, including two new ones this week, with these emerging variants. The English health authorities specify that this “single confirmed human case of clade 1b mpox“had been detected in London and concerned one person”who had recently traveled to African countries“. The British Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) adds that “all contacts (of the infected person, Editor’s note) will be offered a test and vaccination if necessary and will be advised on the additional care to be provided if they present symptoms or if the test is positive.”
As a reminder, monkeypox is a virus that spreads from animals (generally rodents, not monkeys!) to humans but also between humans. This new variant would be more transmissible.
How is the virus transmitted?
Mainly through direct contact. L'Pasteur Institute lists the main risk situations as follows:
- Contact with skin lesions containing viral particles or the mucous membranes of infected people (transmission occurs in particular through direct physical contact with damaged skin or biological fluids (blood, semen, etc.) of an infected person, specifies Santé Publique France ),
- Direct contact with infected animals,
- Indirectly via contaminated materials (such as bedding or surfaces).
To these three proven modes of transmission we must undoubtedly add a fourth: researchers in fact suspect possible transmission “via respiratory droplets from an infected person e”.
Mpox: a potentially fatal disease?
Yes, even if the States concerned and the specialists want to be reassuring: we are not in a situation similar to that which we experienced during the Covid pandemic.
Public Health France thus recalls that “the disease most often heals spontaneously, after 2 to 3 weeks but sometimes 4 weeks.” The most vulnerable (children, immunocompromised people, etc.) are most at risk of severe forms.
Its symptoms resemble those of another viral infection: fever and muscle pain in particular. Added to this clinical picture are skin lesions, in the form of small spots, sometimes concentrated in the genital areas, palms of the hands and/or feet. If symptoms appear, a PCR test can confirm the diagnosis.
New vaccination recommendations
190 cases of mpox have been declared to Public Health France since the beginning of the year, 183 men and 7 women. The High Authority for Health (HAS) follows the opinion of the World Health Organization (WHO) issued last August and reviews its vaccination recommendations, they were published in the Official Journal of October 26, 2024. It targets people most at risk of transmitting the virus, in particular men.
Preventive vaccination against this infectious disease is recommended in particular for:
- men who have sex with men and have multiple sexual partners;
- trans people with multiple sexual partners;
- sex workers;
- professionals in places of sexual consumption;
- partners or people sharing the same accommodation as those at very high risk of exposure (the people mentioned in the previous points).
Post-exposure vaccination is also offered:
- to people who have been in a situation of risky contact with an infected person;
- to immunocompromised people who have had close contact with a “risk contact” person.
Vaccination, free of charge, is not necessary if you have been infected since 2022. On the other hand, a booster dose may be recommended if you have simply received an injection since 2022.
