Mpox: France is preparing for ‘a few clusters’ of cases
‘We are ready to face up to this epidemic, with vaccines that will work’ but the virus is not expected to ‘spread widely’, experts say
No cases of mpox have yet been reported in France, but some are expected to come
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France is expecting there to be some sporadic cases of mpox (formerly known as ‘monkeypox’) in the coming weeks and is ready to face the possible threat of the illness, the health minister has said.
“There is a strong chance that sporadic cases will appear, and probably soon,” said Frédéric Valletoux on August 18 to La Tribune Dimanche. No cases have yet been reported in France.
“[The risk] in Europe is still considered low,” said the minister, sharing the most recent status on the virus from the European Centre for Disease Control.
Xavier Lescure, an infectious diseases specialist at Bichat Hospital in Paris, told France Inter: “There are bound to be cases in France, but the virus will probably not spread widely through the population.”
“It will probably be confined to a few clusters…but nothing more than that,” he said.
Vaccinations
In France, around 150,000 people have received an mpox vaccination in the past two years since the 2022 outbreak, however Mr Valletoux said it was “too early to be certain about the level of effectiveness of vaccines” against the new variant.
Yet, Professor Brigitte Autran, the president of the French health risk committee COVARS, told FranceInfo that there are some “very strong arguments” to suggest that the existing vaccines do “protect just as effectively against this variant”.
She said: “We are ready to face up to this epidemic, with vaccines that will work.”
The new variant is known as ‘clade 1b’, whereas the one that broke out in 2022 was called ‘clade 2’. The vaccine used is called ‘MVA’, and is made by biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic. It “protects against severe forms” of the illness and “certainly has a capacity to reduce the contagion”, said Prof Autran.
“We have robust stocks [of vaccines] that allow us to respond appropriately,” she said. “We have more than we had in 2022, and we can quickly order more if necessary.”
Read also: Are Mpox (monkeypox) vaccines available in France?
Vaccination is recommended for those in the following categories:
Transgender people and men who have sex with men and various partners
Those involved in prostitution
Those who work in a venue where sex takes place (les lieux de consommation sexuelle)
Health professionals can also request a vaccine if they believe it is necessary, as well as those who can confirm they have been in contact with a person who suffers from the virus.
Precautions and plans in France
Current precautions in France include:
Continued vaccination, but only for “the public most at risk”, said the minister
Warnings to “all people who have travelled to the affected areas, on departure and arrival of each flight”
Plans to raise awareness among “the public most exposed to this risk through associations and appropriate networks”
However, Mr Valletoux added that the way that mpox spreads has “no similarity to the way that Covid spreads”, so “we need to reassure the public”.
Mpox is not directly related to a person’s sexual orientation, and is usually spread through prolonged skin-on-skin contact (which can include sexual contact).
Since July 2022, the French Ministry of Health has operated a specific helpline for the mpox virus. It provides information, advice and referral to treatment services, and is available seven days a week, from 08:00 to 23:00, on the freephone number 0 801 90 80 69 (from within France).
World Health Organisation declaration
It comes after the World Health Organisation declared a public health emergency at the highest alert level on August 14, and warned that Europe would likely see some imported cases in the “next few days”.
The first case of this strain of mpox in Europe was reported in Sweden on Thursday 15, in a person who had spent time in Africa, where the epidemic is now spreading. The epidemic began in the Democratic Republic of Congo. No deaths have been reported worldwide.
Death from mpox usually comes from a lack of food and dehydration, both of which can be easily remedied with intravenous drips.
A total of 18,737 cases have been reported in Africa since the start of this year, with 1,200 reported in the past week, said the Africa CDC on Saturday, August 17.
