“What worries is the shape of the curve which is exponential”

“The strain of monkeypox circulating in Europe and the United States, Canada and elsewhere is the West African strain. So, we have to start with a mortality of 1%. Afterwards, the risk factors for mortality are: young children, pregnant women and the immunocompromised. However, for the moment, this disease almost exclusively affects men in very good health who are between 30 and 40 years old. It is certainly not in this class that we will observe the complications” explains Professor Éric Caumes, specialist in infectious diseases.

Pimples located in the genital, perineal or buttocks area, fever, muscle aches, fatigue, these are some of the symptoms of monkey pox. Transmission takes place through the respiratory, cutaneous or sexual route. “It is diagnosed by taking a sample from a skin lesion or a mucosal lesion that is sent to a virology laboratory, since it is a virus, and this virus is isolated by PCR. Today, we do not treat it to be completely honest. The disease heals on its own after three weeks”explains the specialist. The latter calls “compliance with isolation and contact tracing rules”, recalling that the number of cases in France fell from 500 at the beginning of July 2022 to 1500 at the end of the month. “What worries is the shape of the curve which is exponential” explains the expert.