France confirmed its first case of monkeypox this Friday (20). The patient is a 29-year-old male who has not traveled to a country where the virus is circulating. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is still no reason to panic as the disease is benign in most cases and transmission is low among people. However, some experts point out that more severe forms exist and can be fatal.
The French patient is in isolation at his home in the Paris region. Health authorities must now identify people who have come into contact with it to limit the spread of the disease.
This type of smallpox was discovered in lab monkeys in Denmark in 1958, hence the name. “However, at the moment, this virus is mainly carried by rodents,” recalls Jeanne Brugère-Picoux, a member of the French Academy of Medicine and professor of veterinary medicine. RFI.
The first case in humans is from 1970 and was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, the professor explains, human contamination has mainly occurred on the African continent or imported from that part of the world. In 2003, a small outbreak was recorded in the United States, with 70 children infected after coming into contact with infected rodents at a pet store with the species brought from Africa.
More serious than chickenpox
Now, since May 6, monkeypox has been detected in dozens of people in the West. Apart from the first victim who had traveled to Nigeria, other contaminations occurred mainly in Europe, particularly in the UK, among gay or bisexual men, according to authorities. In addition to France, which has just confirmed one case, Spain, Portugal and Canada announced earlier this week that they had found a dozen suspected cases.
Monkeypox is manifested by skin lesions. “It looks like chickenpox, but it’s a little more serious. People usually get better, but they can have sequelae,” explains the teacher. “The virus can be particularly serious in between 1% and 10% of cases in the youngest age and can even lead to death in people with sensitive health or those with young children,” the expert concludes.
rare phenomenon
Contaminations came to the fore in the French press this Friday (20). by the way releaseThe occurrence of monkeypox epidemics in North America and Europe is a rare phenomenon, as the disease is not very contagious.
“Monkey pox, which is endemic in Africa, is a zoonosis caused by a virus that belongs to the same family as human smallpox,” the newspaper explains. Symptoms include headaches, body aches, swollen lymph nodes and fatigue, followed by rashes on the hands and feet that can also affect mucous membranes and genitals.
Until now, the known modes of transmission were by contact with drops of saliva or skin lesions of the infected person. New data observed among cases suggest that the virus can also be transmitted sexually.
The end of the traditional smallpox vaccine
According to the newspaper, the presence of the virus in many countries outside of Africa is inexplicable. Le Parisienbut experts are reassuring as the disease does not spread easily between people, according to the British Health Agency cited in the article.
This Le Figaro He emphasizes that although there is no specific treatment for monkeypox, the vaccine against smallpox effectively protects against the disease. In addition, according to experts from the Pasteur Institute in France, quoted by the newspaper, the mutation rate of the virus is low.
“But we stopped vaccinating the public because we thought the traditional smallpox was under control. So we are now facing a resurgence of this monkey disease,” explains Jeanne Brugère-Picoux. “The question now is whether this virus is becoming more contagious and causing this contamination between humans, unlike sporadic, imported cases. [da África] what we have in the past,” emphasizes the teacher.
source: Noticias
