Twenty-three countries, including France, are now affected by cases of monkeypox. In response, the health authorities of the territories concerned are stepping up their surveillance and implementing their first strategies.
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[EN VIDÉO] What are the differences between bacteria and viruses? They are microbes. They are very small and they are quite easily confused. However, bacteria and viruses are two very different things. And to fight effectively against those that cause disease, it is better to identify them clearly.
Since May 13, 2022, 257 cases of smallpox monkeys have been confirmed, and 120 suspected, in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic according to the latest statistics published by the WHO (world Health Organization). The United Kingdom, Portugal and Canada are the most affected; in France, Public Health France now has 17 confirmed cases, including 13 in Ile-de-France. To date, no deaths outside Africa have been reported.
Close surveillance of this virus makes it possible to quickly detect new cases outside Africa and which have no connection with the continent where the virus is endemic in several countries. Moreover, the situation is being closely monitored there as well. Since the beginning of the year, 1,284 cases of monkeypox have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the first human case of this disease was identified in 1970, and caused 58 deaths.
The world on alert
Although the monkeypox virus has already been talked about outside Africa, especially in 2018 and 2019, the number of cases reported today is unprecedented. As a result, health authorities are putting in place strategies to stem the spread of diffusion of the virus. The CDC in the United States is on Level 2 alert (out of 3) and recommends that travelers avoid close contact with skin and genital lesions of infected people, stay away from live or dead wild animals – if the virus is called “monkey pox”, it can infect many ofspecies of mammals different, especially small rodents. Finally, the preparation such as the consumption of bushmeat is not recommended, because the virus can also be transmitted through poorly cooked contaminated food.
Despite this, the threat to the general population is now considered low – cases are in household members of the infected and men who have sex with men – and there are no travel restrictions to or from the affected countries. is on the agenda. Smallpox vaccines will come out of the freezers since the latter partially protect against monkeypox.
Vaccines for those exposed
The High Authority of Health decided on May 20, 2022 for the administration of the Imvanex® vaccine, the most recent formula authorized since 2013 in Europe. The decree of May 25 published in the Official newspaper authorizes the injection of Imvanex® for prophylaxis – i.e. to prevent the onset of symptoms of monkeypox which can take up to 21 days to appear – in infected persons and staff exposed health. The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) will also pilot the import of the Jynneos® vaccine, authorized in the United States, and whose formula is similar to that of Imvanex®.
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