STOCKHOLM | The risk of monkeypox contagion is “very low” in the general population, but “high” in people with multiple sexual partners, the European Union disease agency said on Monday.
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“For the general population, the probability of contagion is very low,” says the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in its first risk assessment since the unusual appearance of dozens of cases in Europe and America. North.
“However, the likelihood of transmission of the virus in the event of close contact, for example during sex with people with multiple partners, is considered high,” the agency said in its report.
Monkeypox begins with a high fever and quickly develops into a skin rash, with the formation of scabs, especially on the face.
The ECDC recommends the isolation of all cases until the lesions caused by the disease “have completely healed”.
A total of 85 cases have been identified so far in eight EU countries (France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Sweden), according to the ECDC. Health authorities in Denmark also announced a first case on Monday.
The disease, a less dangerous cousin of smallpox, eradicated forty years ago, is endemic in West and Central Africa.
But the multiplication of cases outside the usual distribution area worries experts.
Cases have also already been recorded in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
In addition to sexual relations, contact with mucous membranes or infected wounds, or even large droplets transmitted during prolonged face-to-face contact are considered possible vectors, according to the agency.
“I am concerned by the increase in the number of reported cases of monkeypox in the EU and globally,” commented the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, quoted in an ECDC press release.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, and although the likelihood of contagion to the general population is low, the situation is changing,” she warned.
While most cases are mild, monkeypox can be severe in young children, pregnant women and immunocompromised people, the ECDC points out.
The European agency also calls for vigilance on possible transmission from humans to animals.
“If human-to-animal transmission occurs, and the virus spreads through the animal population, there is a risk that the disease will become endemic in Europe,” she said.
