Circulating levels of monkeypox are extremely low around the world, after an epidemic peak last summer. angellodeco / stock.adobe.com
FOCUS – After an epidemic wave last summer in Europe, America and Asia, the circulation of Mpox disease has reduced considerably, but monitoring and prevention are still necessary.
«There is no more monkeypox epidemic activity in the world“says Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health (ISG) in Geneva. This disease, renamedMpox» by the World Health Organization (WHO), experienced an epidemic peak between the end of July and the beginning of August 2022, almost everywhere in the world. Western Europe – especially Spain and France – was the first region affected by this wave “occurred outside endemic areas».
Originally from Central and West Africa, this monkey pox “is not the dreaded smallpox eradicated in 1980, which had killed more than 300 million people in the 20e century”, recalls Antoine Flahault. More harmless, it essentially affectschildren in rural areas, contaminated by small rodentsfrom which it comes. However, last spring, this virus spread to Europe and then to America and Asia, targeting “men having sex with other men».
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Since the beginning of this epidemic in May 2022, the WHO Emergency Committee has been meeting every three months in order to “assess the smallpox situation“. A fourth meeting was held this Thursday, February 9, and a final report was published on the 7th. The objective is to “see the progress made in the fight against this disease and whether the recommendations made in October should be maintained, strengthened or adapted“, explains the WHO to the Figaro.
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Weak circulation of the virus
Since 1is January 2022, 85,645 confirmed cases of Mpox were reported, of which 92 led to death. The United States is the country most affected by contamination, with 29,933 confirmed cases as of February 6, 2023. They are followed by Brazil (10,758 cases), Spain (7,528 cases) and France (4,128 cases). At the peak of the epidemic in the summer of 2022, the daily incidences rangedfrom 800 to 1000 cases“, reports Mircea Sofonea. The scientist even speaks ofpandemic at this point“, such “activity was significant on the American, European and African continents».
Before each meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee, experts produce a map to list the number of reported cases of Mpox in the different countries of the world. World Health Organization / WHO Health Emergencies Program
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Today, the daily incidences revolve around the “20 to 60 new cases“, he compares. According to the WHO, the number of new cases decreased by 60.5% between the last week of January (January 23-29) and the first week of February 2023 (January 30-February 5). The international body is delightedto see a lasting decline in the number of cases“Since the declaration of the state” of public health emergency of international concern (USPPI) last July. “Overall, the level of growth of Mpox remains relatively lowconfirms Mircea Sofonea. According to the epidemiologist, this epidemic drop was made possible by “the work of associations in the field, vaccination, the decrease in risk events, acquired immunity and less intensive screening».
“We must remain vigilant”
A finding confirmed by Bruno Lina, virologist at the Lyon University Hospital and member of Covars (the new committee for monitoring and anticipating health risks). “We are at extremely low levels of virus circulation“. Nevertheless, “the risk has not disappeared, he nuances, you have to stay vigilant“. Even if “good preventive measures to adopt in groups at risk are in place», «infections can occur“. In a Feb. 9 statement, WHO says it has received case reports of “more than thirty countries […] in the last monthmostly from the Americas. The international institution also admits that it is “difficult to trace the true trajectory of the epidemic in Africa due to limited data».
Mircea Sofonea evokes the risk of the return of festive events in the spring: “some festivals in Spain had been identified as places of overcontamination last year». «It is not yet known if the epidemic is due to these types of events or if it is seasonal.“, he asks.
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That is why “a sudden resumption of the epidemic must be avoided». «We must support surveillance, prevention and care efforts, as well as the vaccination of at-risk populations“Warns the WHO. Three vaccinesuseful against monkey poxexist, according to the WHO, which states that “mass vaccination is not recommended at this time». «Two of them have been approved» and are offered in many countries «only in people at risk“. However, stocks of these doses are “boundaries“. Bruno Lina ensures that France has stocks and that a “first and second dose schedule is proposed“. The virologist concludes that “if we maintain this protection, there is no reason for the epidemic to resume».
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