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The mpox virus (formerly monkeypox) is causing concern worldwide and has even caused the WHO to issue its highest level of health alert. Mostly located in Africa, cases are expected to multiply in Europe in the coming months, although they are not serious for the moment.
Cover photo: Equinox
Since the beginning of the year, more than 15,000 cases of mpox, from the “Clade 1b” strain, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Congolese Minister of Health. In total, the epidemic has caused 548 deaths since January and is now affecting all provinces and its border countries. On August 15, the first European case was reported in Sweden, in a man who had returned from a trip to Africa.
This Monday, August 19, a meeting of the EU Health Council was held, with Spain in particular in attendance. Its main conclusions are that the risk of the virus spreading in Europe is low, and therefore does not recommend measures such as border controls at airports or vaccination of the general population. For her part, the Spanish Minister of Health Mónica García wants to be reassuring. On X, she assures that a vaccine is available, that for the moment no cases of the dangerous variant have been identified in Spain and that the country is familiar with the virus since it has passed “from 7,500 to 264 cases per year thanks to surveillance and vaccination”.
Photo : Equinox
Indeed, a vaccine against MPOX exists – Spain currently has about 500,000 doses – but it is still very poorly available in Africa. The situation on the continent should improve, however, since the EU, in collaboration with the manufacturer Bavarian Nordic, is to send more than 200,000 doses.
In Europe, no alarm but preventive measures
Monkeypox is not new. First present in monkeys (hence the name “monkeypox”), this disease was detected in Africa in the 1970s. It was then transmitted mainly from animals to humans, generally by the ingestion of their meat.
At that time, the virus was not very worrying, but it took another turn in 2022, as it became epidemic with its “Clade 2” variant, mainly affecting the male homosexual community. After a wave of vaccination, the spread was brought under control in early 2023. But a few months later, in September, the new “Clade 1b” strain was detected in the DRC. It is this mutation, more dangerous and contagious than the previous ones, which is now alarming the international community, still haunted by the memory of Covid-19.
MPOX is transmitted “by close physical contact and by sexual and non-sexual transmission”explains the European Centre for Disease Prevention. According to the organization, children appear to be the population most affected by the virus, which manifests itself by “general feverish symptoms, a distinct rash (papules) on the skin and sores on the mucous membrane, back pain and muscle pain”.
While the Centre currently predicts that the severity of the epidemic will be low in Europe, it recommends certain preventive measures to EU member states, such as: “isolate suspected cases” or “provide travel advice to people visiting or returning from areas affected by the epidemic.”
