France does not recommend vaccination for travelers to high-risk countries

Despite warnings from global health authorities about the resurgence of the MPOX epidemic, France does not recommend that travelers to countries at risk get vaccinated in advance, unless they are themselves at risk.

There is no need to be vaccinated against MPOX if you are travelling to one of the countries where the disease is actively circulating, unless you are part of a risk category of the population, French health authorities specified on Tuesday, September 2.

For “travellers going to these countries (…) it is not necessary to be vaccinated”, declared Grégory Emery, Director General of Health, during a press briefing on the management of risks linked to mpox, formerly called “monkey pox”.

Current epidemics

The comments come as MPOX is once again the subject of international concern, two years after the global outbreak in 2022.

There are currently several outbreaks underway in central Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fueled by a different version of the strain that caused the 2022 outbreak.

This was caused by “clade 2”, which is still circulating quietly in many countries, including France. The epidemics in the DRC are caused by “clade 1”, which has caused hundreds of deaths among children.

But the situation is complicated by the fact that a new version of clade 1, variant 1b, has appeared in the DRC and seems to circulate mainly between adults during sexual contact, as was already the case in the 2022 epidemic.

In this context, the French High Authority for Health (HAS) updated its recommendations on anti-MPO vaccination this week.

It has not broadened the scope of people considered at risk and for whom vaccination is recommended: these are essentially men who have homosexual relations, male or female sex workers and anyone working in places dedicated to sexual encounters.

Outside of these risk categories, travelers “do not need to be vaccinated,” insisted Grégory Emery, referring to an opinion that should soon be published by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP).

This body should remind the countries concerned of the need to respect precautionary measures, for example regarding the consumption of meat from wild animals, which can in fact contribute to contamination from animals to humans.