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A toll-free “Monkeypox Info service” on monkeypox has been created by the health authorities. Preventive measures, symptoms, vaccination: everything is there to inform and reassure the population about this disease which is progressing in France.
While cases of monkey pox continue to increase in France, the health authorities decided, Wednesday, July 13, to set up a listening device to answer questions raised by the epidemic.
Monkeypox Info service: a monkey pox listening device
Subsidized by Public Health France and supported by SIS Association, the listening device entitled “Monkeypox Info service” is accessible every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The toll-free number is 0 801 90 80 69. The call is free, anonymous and confidential.
The goal? Answer questions about the current epidemic – which could worry the population – and vaccination, based on current scientific knowledge. According to Public Health France, this device was created to “supporting prevention messages and protective measures, providing information on symptoms, treatments and vaccination, advising and directing towards care systems”.
Clear and up-to-date answers
Users will be able to find the listening and the answers to all the questions they ask themselves:
- Around the disease itself: what is monkey pox (or Monkeypox), its symptoms, its modes of transmission, risk situations and how to best protect yourself from it;
- What to do in case of contact with a sick person;
- If the infection is contracted, the recommended isolation measures (3 weeks);
- The care pathway: how is the diagnosis made, with what type of test and what does it consist of? What are the stages of medical care if you are sick or contact at risk? What treatments can be prescribed? ;
- Information on vaccination against monkeypox: who it is for and what are its possible side effects, the surveillance put in place for vaccinated people or the protection conferred by the vaccine against smallpox.
- And all the other miscellaneous questions that this disease can raise: what is the difference between smallpox and monkeypox? If you have already had chickenpox, can you get monkeypox?…
According to Public Health France, listeners and respondents benefit from continuous and updated training according to the health situation, provided by a medical coordinator. In addition, a directory is updated daily to “to direct users to diagnostic structures, vaccination centers and, in the event of a specific request from the caller, to LGBT friendly health professionals”.