In its latest situation update published this Monday, December 23, the World Health Organization focuses on cases of Mpox, a highly contagious disease previously described as “monkeypox”, “linked to travel.”
“Travel-related imported cases have been detected in at least eight countries outside Africa, in chronological order: Sweden, Thailand, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Canada and Pakistan,” it says. the international health organization.
A “particularly worrying” situation in Africa
“In November 2024, the last month for which complete global surveillance data is available, 2,726 new confirmed cases of mox were reported,” the WHO continues.
The UN organization points out that “the epidemiological situation in Africa remains particularly worrying and the high number of cases remains high.” This is due “to the epidemics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Uganda.” The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains the country most affected by this disease.
In France, health authorities have only detected clade II monkeypox virus, a particular strain of the virus. “The spread of clade Ib to new areas appears to occur mainly through transmission between young adults through close physical contact, often sexual,” explains the WHO.
The organization still maintains its highest level of alert regarding this Mpox epidemic. This disease is characterized by skin lesions, such as pustules, high fever and muscle pain. First identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970, the disease remained confined to a dozen African countries for a long time. But, in 2022, it began to spread to the rest of the world, particularly developed countries where the virus had never circulated.
Source: BFM TV
