FAQ Mpox

Monkeypox, also known as simian orthopox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, a virus closely related to that of smallpox. This disease is a zoonosis, meaning that the virus circulates in an animal reservoir (rodents), and is sometimes transmitted to humans, who are an accidental host. In some cases, the disease can be transmitted between humans. It is endemic in West and Central Africa, where cases, and sometimes epidemics, are regularly reported. In the last five years, people who have travelled have been diagnosed with the disease on their return from Africa, but this has remained rare.

Since the beginning of May 2022, in a highly unusual development, a greater number of cases have been reported for the first time in several European countries, North and South America and Australia - with a first case in Switzerland on 21 May, followed by a second in Geneva on 24 May... To date, the vast majority of these recently reported cases have had a favourable outcome, with remission of symptoms. Nonetheless, around 10% of those diagnosed require hospitalisation.

In the majority of cases, the disease causes lesions that heal on their own after a few weeks. However, some people suffer severe pain and more severe forms of the disease (encephalitis, myocarditis), and the virus has even caused deaths, including among healthy young people. About 10% of those diagnosed require hospitalisation

The virus responsible for monkeypox is mainly transmitted by direct contact with a lesion, whether cutaneous, genital or anal. Transmission can therefore occur during sexual intercourse, which involves direct and prolonged contact. More rarely, it can also occur through indirect contact with contaminated objects, linen or sheets, or through prolonged contact with respiratory secretions (sputum).

According to current information from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the risk of contagion from monkeypox is very low in the general population, but high in men with several sexual partners. In-depth scientific analyses of the routes of transmission are currently underway.

A person may be contagious before the appearance of skin lesions, as soon as the first flu-like symptoms appear.

The virus responsible for monkeypox is mainly transmitted by direct contact with a lesion, whether cutaneous, genital or anal. Transmission can therefore occur during sexual intercourse, which involves direct and prolonged contact. More rarely, it can also occur through indirect contact with contaminated objects, linen or sheets, or through prolonged contact with respiratory secretions (sputum).

According to current information from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the risk of contagion from monkeypox is very low in the general population, but high in men with several sexual partners. In-depth scientific analyses of the routes of transmission are currently underway.
A person may be contagious before the appearance of skin lesions, as soon as the first flu-like symptoms appear..

Contact a doctor, who will decide whether or not screening for the virus is necessary.

A doctor takes a smear from the lesions or from the throat. The sample is then sent to the Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Infections (CRIVE) ), which has a PCR test (a laboratory technique that consists of amplifying part of the genetic material of a virus to identify it) to diagnose monkeypox.

If you test positive for monkeypox, you should be treated as soon as you are no longer contagious, i.e. as soon as the lesions have formed a scab, the scab has fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed underneath. Isolation is generally carried out at home and lasts from two to four weeks. It must be strict. The Cantonal Medical Service will contact you to draw up a list of people with whom you have been in contact. The Confederation recommends that the cantons activate contact tracing for confirmed cases.

To date, there is no specific treatment for monkeypox. Medicines may be prescribed to treat fever and pain, depending on the symptoms. In the most serious cases, tecovirimat may be administered. This antiviral, which the Swiss Confederation is planning to purchase, appears to be effective in treating the most severe forms of the disease, but its use is still under study, in Switzerland under the supervision of a large European study.

The Swiss Confederation has purchased doses of smallpox vaccine (Jynneos), already approved in the United States and under the trade name Imvanex in the European Union. In Switzerland, the validation process by Swissmedic is still under way. Vaccination protects against severe cases, but not necessarily against symptomatic infection. The World Health Organisation recommends vaccinating people who are exposed to high-risk situations, whether in their private lives or at work (e.g. healthcare and laboratory workers).

There could be cross-immunity with smallpox. For example, people who received the smallpox vaccine as children - who are now over 50 years old, since vaccination was stopped in Switzerland in 1972 - could benefit from residual protection. People previously vaccinated against smallpox would be 5 times less likely to develop monkeypox.

Today, the virus circulates mainly among men who have sex with men. However, the virus can affect anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender or age. As long as the virus is transmitted, it continues to adapt: it will evolve and mutate like any new virus in humans. We can't rule out the possibility of wider transmission one day. It is therefore essential to take all possible measures to limit the circulation of this virus.