The epidemic began in the middle of summer. But communities reacted to implement vaccination against smallpox. In this new school year, we take stock of monkey pox with Professor Michel Carles, infectiologist at the Nice University Hospital.
Professor Michel Carles, infectious disease specialist at the Nice University Hospital was the guest of France 3 Côte d’Azur in the 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday, September 13. We make a point with him on the monkey pox This viral disease, which is characterized in particular by skin lesions, generally resolves on its own but can be very painful, and sometimes serious.
A study released on Tuesday detailed two cases of encephalomyelitis — inflammation affecting the nervous system, including the spinal cord — associated with monkeypox infection.
For Professor Carles who observed this smallpox virus as early as mid-July, “it is a disease whose contagiousness is lower than Covid 19 because it requires close contact. It is an STD (sexually transmitted disease) which is transmitted through genital secretions and saliva.
The health authorities are reassuring: the peak of 40 cases per week has passed and since then it has been decreasing. We observe only 10 cases per week, or even less.
“It’s usually young men who have sex with other men, men under 50”. It is the multiplicity of partners that increases the risks.
Sex workers are also concerned. On the other hand, few cases in the lesbian community.
“The symptoms are fever, pimples and lesions on the mucous membranes”. Problem: these symptoms are also very similar to those of chickenpox. If in doubt, PCR tests exist in hospitals and laboratories.
Normally no, you don’t die of chickenpox. “It’s an uncomfortable disease, sometimes you have to take morphine to relieve the itching, specifies the infectiologist. However, in some immunocompromised people, “the risk of death is low but not impossible”.
Children were required to be vaccinated until the 1980s.
For Michel Carles, if one is exposed, a single dose is not enough, a second is needed. He points out that the antibody level rises slowly after an injection. It takes an average of six weeks between two injections for the vaccine to be truly effective. And 3 doses for the weakest people. He underlines : “It is a 3rd generation vaccine which is very well tolerated.”
“Today, the supply of vaccination is greater than the demand in PACA,” specifies Olivier Reilhes, of the Regional Health Agency.
Vaccination began at the Nice University Hospital shortly after July 14. And in two months, there have been 7,000 people vaccinated in PACA, including 3,000 in the Alpes-Maritimesaccording to figures from the ARS.
A vaccination campaign which takes place in around thirty centres, in hospitals, CEGIDs, the premises of the Aides association and in centers made available by local authorities.
The High Authority for Health (HAS) recommends vaccination if you are in contact with infected people or for prevention.
This disease, identified in 1958 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has spread in the tropical forests of Central Africa. Monkeys but also rodents, squirrels, antelopes and gazelles can be vectors of smallpox.
More recently, “A first epidemic took place in the United States in the 2000s, probably linked to the trade in infected rodents and travelers who transport the virus without knowing it”, advances Professor Carles.
Since then, the smallpox had disappeared. Today, the health authorities know that “these outbreaks of epidemic” can reappear, even in Europe.
The PACA region is the 3e most affected region. Since September 8, 3,785 cases of infections have been confirmed by the Monkeypox virus (monkey pox) in France. The breakdown of cases by region of residence is as follows: 2,311 in Ile-de-France, 305 in Occitanie, 257 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.