According to a report by Public Health France, 143 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in France since the beginning of the year. An update on the epidemic situation.
- “Only clade II monkeypox viruses have been detected,” says Santé publique France. The clade 2 virus is a less dangerous variant than its cousin ‘clade 1b’ which is currently circulating in West Africa and which has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a “public health emergency of international concern”.
- Almost all cases did not lead to a serious form of the disease: only 5% of patients were hospitalized “due to intense pain, associated or not with a concomitant pathology or complications”.
- On Monday, September 2, in the face of the resurgence of the virus, the High Authority of Health updated its recommendations and recommended a vaccination booster for people already considered at risk: men who have homosexual relations and male or female prostitutes.
Between August 28 and September 3, 14 cases of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, were recorded on French territory, bringing the total number of cases to 143 since the beginning of 2024, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin from Public Health FranceAll reported cases concerned adults between 18 and 65 years old, including 140 men and three women, and almost half of them resided in Ile-de-France.
Mpox virus variant less dangerous than in West Africa
“Only clade II monkeypox viruses were detected”the agency said. The clade 2 virus is a less dangerous variant than its cousin “clade 1b” that is currently circulating in West Africa and which led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC), its highest level of alert, in mid-August. To date, only one isolated case of this variant has been identified in Europe, in Sweden.
The disease transmitted by this virus is characterized in particular by “a rash that may be isolated or preceded or accompanied by fever or swollen lymph nodes”, details the Ministry of Health. Transmission between humans occurs “by direct contact with an infected person, through bodily fluids, skin lesions of the disease or internal mucous membranes such as the mouth”but also “indirectly through objects that the patient has contaminated.”
5% of French cases of Mpox led to hospitalization
It should be noted that almost all of the 143 cases recorded since January 1st have not led to a serious form of the disease: only 5% of patients have been hospitalized. “due to severe pain, whether or not associated with concomitant pathology or complications.”
Nearly half of the cases (48%) said they did not know whether they “had had risky contact with a case of MPOX in the 3 weeks preceding the first symptoms”. Among the 107 reported cases, (28%) reported travel to a foreign country (mainly Spain) in the three weeks preceding the onset of symptoms. Regarding the vaccination status of the patients, most had never been vaccinated against Mpox, or human smallpox (before 1980).
France does not recommend that travelers get vaccinated against Mpox, even if they are going to one of the countries where the disease is actively circulating. Only people “at high risk of exposure” are encouraged to get vaccinated: men who have homosexual relations, trans people with multiple partners, and male or female prostitutes. On Monday, September 2, in the face of the resurgence of the virus, The High Authority of Health has also updated its recommendations and recommended, among other things, a booster vaccination for those people already considered at risk.
