Europe 1 with AFP 6:14 p.m., May 25, 2022, modified at 6:14 p.m., May 25, 2022

France currently has seven "proven" cases of monkey pox, the new Minister of Health Brigitte Bourguignon said on Wednesday, adding that the country had the necessary stocks to vaccinate contact cases as recommended by health authorities.

France currently has seven "proven" cases of monkeypox, Brigitte Bourguignon said on Wednesday, adding that the country has the necessary stocks to vaccinate contact cases as recommended by health authorities. There are seven proven cases", and "these are not people who have travelled", mentioned the new Minister of Health to journalists during a trip to the Pasteur Institute.

At the start of the morning, the minister had mentioned on RTL "five proven cases".

“Vaccine stocks are there”

"We are not expecting an outbreak of the disease, we are taking the necessary precautions, so vigilance in this case, and because it is a virus that we no longer saw in Europe", he said. she said during her first interview since taking office in her new ministerial post.

"Recommendations have been made, to identify, detect, and then isolate," she added on RTL.

As soon as "the recommendation" of the health authorities on the vaccination of people in contact with the disease "will be established", "we are ready".

"The stocks are there, we have strategic stocks and it will be targeted vaccination, we are not talking about total vaccination," said Brigitte Bourguignon on the radio.

"Beyond caregivers" in contact with a patient, these are "contact cases" in the patient's entourage.

>> READ ALSO

- Monkey pox: origin, transmission... Four questions about this disease

Asked about the stocks of smallpox vaccine available to France, the minister said during her trip to Pasteur that "the stocks are perfect for the moment, I can't tell you more".

Beyond that, "we are emerging from a crisis where people have learned to protect themselves", estimated Brigitte Bourguignon in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Soon an answer on the strategy to adopt

Faced with cases of monkey pox, in an opinion issued on Tuesday, the High Authority for Health recommended the vaccination of adults, including health professionals, who have had risky contact with a patient.

The minister also indicated that she would discuss next Monday with her European counterparts the “strategies that we are going to adopt” regarding this disease.

"For now, the situation is under control, it is under control," she said.