This mysterious epidemic of “monkey pox” transmitted from human to human in Europe

Britain remains at the forefront of monitoring new diseases.

As with the warning on the Alpha variant of Covid-19, it was the public health authorities across the Channel who raised the alert on monkey pox (or simian orthopoxvirus), with a toll that is rising today to a few dozen people affected in a handful of countries.

The disease seems less serious than smallpox, eradicated from the planet in 1980, but it resembles it in clinical signs.

After a high fever, many pimples appear on the body, similar to chicken pox.

But in a large proportion of cases, the disease heals on its own.

However, the two strains of the virus, one from West Africa and the other from Central Africa, can be fatal in 1% to 10% of cases, according to the WHO (World Health Organization ).

An unusual situation

The UK has taken the matter very seriously, with nine confirmed cases in total, including two indigenous, unlinked…

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