A first portrait of patients affected by the current outbreak of monkeypox cases is emerging, according to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The most common profile is that of a man under 40, living in Europe, having sex with men, with rashes all over his body and fever. This is only a crude portrait, the profile of which is representative of that of the majority of patients.
Europe, the most affected region
With 81.6% of the 6,027 cases recorded worldwide, Europe remains by far the region most affected by the current wave of monkeypox cases, detected in May outside the countries of Central and West Africa. where the virus is endemic. Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain are the most affected countries in the world, with more than 1,000 cases each. France had 498 cases as of July 6, according to figures from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
99.5% of patients who provided their sex are men, with a median age of 37, according to WHO statistics. 60% of sufferers who have provided information about their sexual orientation – about a third of the total number of people affected – identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, according to the report.
Read alsoMonkey pox: meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee during the week of July 18 at the latest
A distant cousin of smallpox, but considered much less dangerous, monkeypox usually heals on its own within two or three weeks. WHO Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Wednesday that a meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee on the subject will be held no later than the week of July 18. At its previous meeting on June 23, the Committee declined to elevate the current spike in cases to “public health emergency of international concern», the highest level of alert of the organization.
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