France has reported its first case of a dangerous new strain of mpox, marking the country as the fifth in Europe to detect the strain. The patient, located in the Brittany region, had not traveled to a hotspot but had been in contact with two individuals who had recently returned from Central Africa.
French health authorities are investigating the source of the infection and tracing potential contacts. While the risk to the general public remains low, the country’s health agency noted that “sporadic cases, linked to countries with more intense viral circulation, may occur.”
The new strain of mpox, a subset of clade 1, has sparked global concern due to its rapid spread and its ability to evade existing diagnostic methods. It is also known to cause more severe illness compared to clade 2, which was responsible for the 2022 international mpox outbreak. Since the beginning of 2024, over 69,000 suspected cases and nearly 1,300 deaths have been reported across 20 African countries, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
Sweden was the first European country to report a case of clade 1b in August, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, where cases were linked to individuals who had recently traveled abroad or had household connections to travelers. Clade 1b cases have also been reported outside Europe and Africa, including in Canada, India, Thailand, and the United States.
In response to the growing threat, France’s health agency is urging high-risk groups—such as men who have sex with men, sex workers, and people with close ties to regions with active virus circulation—to get vaccinated against mpox.
Symptoms of mpox include a rash, fever, headache, chills, lymph node swelling, and respiratory issues.
