Faced with the resurgence of the mpox epidemic in the world, the Pasteur Institute said on Monday that it was ready to “test and vaccinate patients at the request of the French authorities”, who have not yet identified “any contamination” on the territory. But in concrete terms, how is France preparing for the arrival of the virus?
Concern is growing over the spread of the Mpox virus, the new name for monkeypox. A new meeting took place at Matignon on Monday, August 19. This is the second in the space of a few days. But the idea is not to cause panic. For the moment, no cases of the new variant of Monkeypox have been detected in France.
The government wants to anticipate, Covid has been there. That is why last Friday Gabriel Attal placed the country on maximum alert. It must be said that the WHO, the World Health Organization, has declared the highest level of global alert. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has asked Europe to prepare. A first case of the new Mpox variant has been detected in Sweden.
A virus that until now was widespread in Africa
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was confined to around ten African countries for a long time. But a first epidemic in 2022 spread to the rest of the world. The WHO had already declared its highest alert level at the time, which has since been lifted. The virus was thus very non-lethal. It mainly affected homosexual and bisexual men.
Now, it is a new variant that is causing concern, detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo almost a year ago. More contagious, more dangerous. Its mortality rate is estimated at 3.6%. The epicenter of the epidemic is in the DRC, but it has spread to its neighboring countries. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 19,000 cases have been recorded in 12 African countries: 541 people have died.
What about France?
For the moment, no cases of this strain have been recorded. But the authorities are talking about a “quiet” circulation of the less dangerous variant, that of the 2022 epidemic. According to Public Health France, this year 107 cases of this variant were detected between January and June. Mostly benign cases, with no deaths reported.
150,000 people at risk have even been vaccinated against this strain. This is what the Minister Delegate for Health said. Frédéric Valletoux believes, however, that there is a strong chance that sporadic cases of the new variant will appear in France.
How to detect it?
The symptoms are the same as the flu: fever, muscle aches, but also skin lesions, such as boils. Pustules that can be found all over the body, where the initial variant caused localized pimples on the mouth, face, genitals.
It is a virus that is transmitted from animals to humans, but also through close physical contact with an infected person. Through saliva, during sexual intercourse in particular and more widely in the event of direct contact with the lesions: there is therefore particular vigilance with regard to children.
Is there a vaccine against the virus?
The vaccine is manufactured by the Danish group Bavarian Nordic. It has already been used, as has been said, against the first variant of Mpox and it unquestionably reduces the risk of infection and severe form. Experts are not worried about its effectiveness on the current variant.
In France, authorities say vaccine stocks are robust. They can be ordered quickly. The Pasteur Institute is also in the starting blocks: ready to “test and vaccinate patients at the request of the authorities.”
In reality, the needs are especially urgent in the most affected areas in Africa. Today, the Danish laboratory has 500,000 doses. It can produce 10 million by 2025. The United States and the European Union will provide hundreds of thousands of doses to the African continent… France too.
Should we be worried?
Epidemiologists say no. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control considers that the risk of infection by the new variant in Europe is low. In France, the Directorate General of Health reminds caregivers that each suspected case must be reported: isolation, identification of contact cases, organization of vaccination.
Since covid, the mechanics are oiled. If in doubt, consult your doctor. There is also a green number MPoxInfoservice: 08.01.90.80.69 and it’s free.
