Monkey pox seems to be spreading in French territories. The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Reunion reported this Wednesday a first confirmed case of monkeypox in a man who was placed in solitary confinement and whose condition “does not inspire concern”.
“He is a man who recently returned from Metropolitan France, where he most likely contracted the infection”, according to the ARS of Reunion. The case was detected after biological analyzes carried out in this patient who had consulted a doctor on Wednesday. The person is isolated at home and his state of health does not inspire concern, notes the ARS.
An outbreak in forty countries
An epidemiological investigation was implemented by the ARS and Public Health France, “in conjunction with the doctor who treated the patient”. Monkey pox (“monkeypox” in English), the outbreak of which is affecting some forty countries, first results in a high fever and quickly evolves into a rash. The disease, hitherto contained in a dozen African countries, usually heals spontaneously after two to three weeks.
In France, the virus mainly affects adults, and the vast majority of men. According to figures sent by the ARS of La Réunion, as of September 12, 3,833 cases have been identified in France and “no death has been reported to date”.