Now also Germany, France and Australia: The number of monkeypox cases recorded continues to rise. It is still unclear how long the disease has been circulating unnoticed in Western countries. The first associations warn of the stigmatization of those affected.
A case of monkeypox has also been confirmed in Germany for the first time. The virus was detected in a patient on Thursday, the Institute for Microbiology said on Friday in Munich. The patient had characteristic skin changes.
“It was only a matter of time before monkeypox was also detected in Germany,” said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on the case. Doctors and patients in Germany are sensitized by the reports from other countries. “Based on the knowledge available so far, we assume that the virus is not so easily transmitted and that this outbreak can be contained.” However, this requires quick action. “We will now analyze the virus more closely and check whether it is a more contagious variant.”
Pathogen comes from Africa
In the course of increased attention to the disease, cases of monkeypox, which actually occurs rarely, are being detected in more and more countries. France also reported a first case on Friday, and the virus was also discovered in Australia and thus in another region of the world. It is still unclear to what extent the pathogen, which originated in Africa, has already spread internationally. According to health authorities, the virus usually causes only mild symptoms, but can also have severe courses.
With the large number of cases in Western countries, he assumes that the virus has been circulating unnoticed for a while, said the doctor Norbert Brockmeyer. Due to the increased attention, increased evidence can be expected, said the President of the German STI Society of the German Press Agency. STI stands for Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Monkeypox: Cases in USA, Canada, UK, Spain
According to the authorities in France, a 29-year-old is affected in the greater Paris area who had not previously traveled to a country where the virus circulates. Contact persons would be identified and would be given rules of conduct to prevent the virus from spreading, it said. In Australia, the pathogen was confirmed in a man around 30 years old who had recently returned from Great Britain, according to the responsible health authority. He is in isolation in a hospital and his contacts are now being identified.
Cases had previously been reported from numerous other countries such as Great Britain, Spain, Sweden and the USA. The majority or possibly even all of the cases so far have involved men, and in many cases they reportedly had sexual contact with men. The World Health Organization (WHO) had already called for a rigorous follow-up of all contacts of those affected on Wednesday. Clinics and the population would have to be made aware of the symptoms.
People who have many sexual contacts are at high risk
According to Brockmeyer, people who have sexual contact with many different people are most at risk of infection. In principle, however, the virus can also be transmitted through close physical contact, so the doctor considers caution advisable in the general population. But there is no cause for great concern. “The monkey pox will be easily controllable.”
From a scientific point of view, it is important to check how contagious the circulating virus is and whether it is a mutated, more contagious variant, said Brockmeyer. “Unfortunately, we have a huge population in Germany that hasn’t been vaccinated against smallpox – especially in the sexually active age group.” The potential for infections caused by the pathogen is therefore significantly greater than it was 20 years ago. Depending on further developments, smallpox vaccinations should be considered. Smallpox has been considered eradicated worldwide since 1980, and no vaccinations have been given since then. In principle, a vaccine that works well would be available.
The German Aidshilfe warned against wrong conclusions and stigmatization in view of the monkeypox cases in gay men. “Of course there are superficial similarities between monkeypox and HIV back then – it’s another disease from Africa that also affects gay men. But the comparison doesn’t fit in many other respects,” said AIDS spokesman Holger Wicht.
Infectiologist: Less pathogenic than smallpox
In contrast to HIV, the virus that causes monkeypox was known longer in the 1980s, and the disease also healed on its own. “It is very important to us that panic and unreasonable fears do not arise here.” There are still uncertainties when assessing the severity of the disease – for example about how well the immunocompromised – this can include, for example, HIV-infected people who have not been treated for many years – cope with the disease.
The Charité infectiologist Leif Sander described monkeypox on Twitter as less pathogenic than smallpox, but it was “nevertheless a serious and in some cases fatal disease”. The disease is named monkeypox after the pathogen was first detected in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. Experts suspect that the virus actually circulates in squirrels and rodents, while monkeys and humans are considered false hosts.
Source: Stern
