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More than 1,800 people in France have been infected with monkeypox virus, the majority of which are in the Paris region, accounting for about 10% of global infections. French Health Minister Braun recently announced the launch of free screening for monkeypox.

Monkeypox is spreading in Europe, with deaths in Spain. More than 1,800 people in France have been infected with the monkeypox virus, and Spain has just confirmed its second death from monkeypox on the 30th. On the 29th, the country recorded its first death from monkeypox, which was also the first death in Europe in this monkeypox outbreak.

Most of the French infected are in the Paris area

According to data provided by the Spanish National Epidemiological Surveillance Network on the 29th, the country has now confirmed 4,298 cases of monkeypox. But due to delays in reporting data, the actual number of cases may be higher. In addition, statistics show that the age of confirmed monkeypox cases ranges from 10 months to 88 years old, with an average age of 37 years; a total of 120 cases require hospitalization; in addition, among the cases for which information can be queried, the number of males is 4081 , the number of females was 64. Of the 2253 cases for which relevant information was available, 82.1% of infections were from close contacts in sexual relationships, and 10.5% were from close contacts not related to sex.

According to the latest statistics, more than 1,800 people in France have also been infected with monkeypox virus, most of which occurred in the Paris region, accounting for about 10% of global infections. French Health Minister Braun recently announced the launch of free screening for monkeypox to curb the further spread of monkeypox. In recent weeks, France has opened more than 100 vaccine centers across the country, and more than 6,000 people have been vaccinated. The government said the vaccine campaign would target the groups most at risk, including gay men and sex workers. Romain Fauchery, a staff member at the vaccination center, said the high vaccination rate of the first two days was reassuring.

In addition, the Brazilian Ministry of Health confirmed on July 29 that the country had also reported its first death from monkeypox. It is reported that this is the first death outside of Africa in this monkeypox epidemic in the world. On the same day, New York Governor Cathy Hochuer declared a "disaster emergency" for the state due to the growing monkeypox epidemic. Previously, in response to the monkeypox epidemic, New York City opened three large-scale vaccination sites, and nearly 10,000 appointments were sold out within 10 minutes.

The World Health Organization declared on July 23 that the monkeypox outbreak in many countries constituted a "public health emergency of international concern".

Monkeypox outbreak in Africa 50 years ago

Since the 1970s, monkeypox epidemics have been reported in Zaire, Liberia, Cameroon, etc. in Africa, and the disease occurs throughout the year, generally peaking from July to August. Experts believe that the harm caused by monkeypox virus in Africa is more serious, which is related to the low nutritional status of African locals. In addition, the HIV infection rate in Africa continues to rise, and monkeypox virus is more harmful to immunocompromised individuals.

In 2003, the monkeypox virus first landed in the Western Hemisphere and broke out in the United States. This was also the first time that monkeypox cases were reported outside the African continent. A total of 47 people were diagnosed. According to the final investigation by the U.S. health agency, the outbreak was caused by imported animals. The virus was eventually traced back to a pet store that infected several rodents with monkeypox among more than 800 small mammals imported from Ghana, which in turn caused the virus to infect humans.

Many global health experts support the WHO's decision to classify the monkeypox outbreak as a "public health emergency of international concern", arguing that the monkeypox outbreak has been spreading in Africa for many years but has not received widespread attention from countries. Whitworth, an emeritus professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said he hoped that attention to monkeypox outbreaks would lead to "a focus on controlling the spread of the virus in Africa", noting that monkeypox cases have been increasing in Africa over the past 20 years . Moti, head of the WHO Africa office, worries that Africa will be forgotten by developed countries such as the United States and Europe, just like in the new crown pneumonia epidemic.