It has been almost two weeks since the first monkeypox infection was confirmed in Germany. That was in Munich. Since then, the number of affected federal states has been growing.
In the course of the unusual outbreak in several countries, monkeypox is also increasingly being detected in patients in Germany. The number of confirmed cases already reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) rose from 21 on Monday to 33, as the RKI wrote on its website on Tuesday. In addition to those affected from Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt, an additional case in Hamburg became known on Tuesday.
A 32-year-old man is being treated in the Bernhard Nocht Clinic of the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), said Stefan Schmiedel, senior physician in infectiology, on Tuesday. The patient had a pronounced skin rash and also a fever like the flu. “I assume that the patient will soon be able to be isolated at home,” said Schmiedel. At the moment there are isolated cases in Germany with close, often sexual contacts. “So far, no transmission has been detected in normal social contacts,” said Schmiedel.
As the British health authority announced on Monday evening, the number of cases in Great Britain has already risen to almost 180. People have been urged to look out for new spots, blisters or ulcers and, if in doubt, limit contacts.
Read: First doses pre-ordered – monkeypox is spreading: do we need a vaccination again?
Monkeypox is considered a less severe disease compared to smallpox, which has been eradicated since 1980. According to the RKI, the pathogen is usually transmitted from person to person through close physical contact. Symptoms usually go away on their own within a few weeks, but can lead to medical complications and, in very rare cases, death in some people.
According to Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD), vaccination concepts for people in the vicinity of infected people are being prepared. The required smallpox vaccine is expected in the first half of June.
