The symptoms of monkeypox, observed in Europe and America since the spring, are very different from those observed in African countries, where the disease was previously only present, according to a study published this Saturday July 2 in the journal scientific The Lancet Infectious Diseases. It could modify the definition of the disease and facilitate its detection.
A team of researchers studied the effects of the virus on the first British patients – around fifty only. At the end of May, they represented half of the cases recorded in Great Britain, one of the first countries, outside Africa, where the virus appeared. Today, there are 3,000 cases in Europe and on the American continent. Conclusion : symptoms of monkey poxobserved in Europe and America since the spring, are very different from those observed in African countries.
A high fever can no longer be considered an obvious symptom of monkeypox. It was systematically associated with the disease. However, barely more than half of the patients studied by this team of researchers presented with it. On this sample, bouts of fever are thus less frequent than in Africa, but also shorter and less dangerous and thus required fewer hospitalizations.
Lesions concentrated around the genitals
Now concerning the typical lesions of the disease, they are most often concentrated around the genitals. In the previous cases, they were larger, they could reach the face or the neck. This peculiarity suggests that the first British cases were contracted during sexual relations. Not that the disease is sexually transmitted, but that the contamination took place by contact with a lesion of the skin of another patient.
If the symptoms are different, it does not mean that the current epidemic is due to a new version of the virus. Other researchers point out that no genetic modification has been detected. This means, on the other hand, that in Africa, cases without fever and with limited skin lesions may not have been detected, distorting the data.
► To read or listen: [Les dessous de l’infox] Monkey pox, a new source of fake news and conspiracy theories
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