This first French case was identified Thursday in the Paris region. He is a 29-year-old man with no history of travel to a country where the virus is circulating.
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The virus is indeed on our territory. A first case monkey pox was confirmed by the Directorate General for Health (DGS) on Friday 20 May. It had been identified in Ile-de-France. He is a 29-year-old man with no history of travel to a country where the virus is circulating, health authorities said. As soon as his infection was suspected, this person was taken care of and, in the absence of seriousness, is isolated at his home.
Monkeypox, usually confined to parts of Africa, has emerged in Europe and North America. More than thirty cases have been confirmed in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada and the United States, according to the health authorities of the countries concerned.
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The disease is characterized by symptoms similar to those caused by smallpox in the past. But it is less serious, assures the World Health Organization (WHO). Initially, the infected patient experiences a fever, severe headache, muscle aches, characteristic inflammation of the lymph nodes, back pain and severe fatigue. Then pimples appear, first on the face, then in the palms of the hands and on the soles of the feet. The oral mucous membranes, the genitals and the cornea can also be affected by this important rash. The disappearance of symptoms takes, in most cases, two to three weeks, explains the WHO.