Monkey pox: should we be concerned?

A case of monkeypox has just been identified in Île-de-France. This sometimes fatal disease can cause severe skin lesions, and patients now number in the dozens, in North America and Europe. First identified in Central African monkeys, the virus can also be carried by many rodents. If they touch them, the man can be infected.

Human-to-human spread occurs through prolonged contact with broken skin or exposure to bodily fluids of an infected person. According to specialists, this virus is weakly contagious and serious forms are very rare representing less than 1% of cases. “Compare it to severe chickenpox“, explains Professor Eric Caumes, from the infectious and tropical diseases department of the Pitié-Salpétrière hospital in Paris.