Monkeypox: three cases of Mpox detected in Reunion

Three cases of infection by the Mpox (Monkeypox, also known as monkey pox) have been confirmed in the last two weeks in Reunion, according to a communicated published by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). However, the health authority does not provide information on their state of health or the origin of the contamination.

Mpox: contact cases invited to get vaccinated “as soon as possible”

Initially, Mpox affected animals. But for several months, it has also been infecting humans, making this pathology an emerging zoonosis, according to Pasteur Institute. “In early May 2022, cases of monkeypox (MPOX) without a direct link to travel to Central or West Africa where the virus is present, or to people returning from travel, were reported in Europe and around the world, can we read on the website of Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity. Since that date, the disease has been subject, in France as in Europe, to increased surveillance based on the Mandatory Declaration, the form of which has been specifically updated..”

“Patients and their contacts were taken care of and given information on what to do: encouragement to get vaccinated as soon as possible, monitoring for any appearance of suggestive symptoms”, underlines the ARS. Before these cases, the last patients infected with Mpox in Reunion had been detected in 2022. These were two people who had been contaminated outside the island, “very probably” in France for the first and on an island in the Indian Ocean for the second, indicates the ARS. These two patients did not have a severe form of the disease.

Monkeypox, a deadly disease

But this is not always the case. Mpox can be dangerous. As the Pasteur Institute points out, depending in particular on access to care, the mortality rate of the disease is between 0.1 and 10%.

Once a person is infected with orthopoxvirus, after a Incubation period of between six and sixteen days, there are two phases to monkeypox. The first lasts on average five days: this is the time when the patient may have fever, headaches, back and muscle pain, adenopathy, i.e. swelling of the lymph nodes, and feel very tired. The second phase, which occurs within one to three days after the onset of fever, is characterized by a rash. The face is often affected first, followed by other parts of the body.

“Some people are likely to develop severe forms, particularly people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and young children.“, assures the ARS. It is therefore a disease to watch out for. According to the ARS, an epidemiological investigation has been launched on Reunion Island.