First monkeypox case: Karl Lauterbach: “Outbreak can be contained” (video)

STORY: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Friday in Berlin on the first case of monkeypox in Germany: “A patient with monkeypox was diagnosed in Munich. I discussed this in detail with my colleague Holetschek. He also informed the press. The news is not surprising, because it was only a matter of time before monkeypox was also detected in Germany.Doctors and patients in Germany were sensitized by the reports of infections worldwide and the rapid information also provided by the Robert Koch Institute Based on what we know so far, we believe that the virus is not easily transmissible and that this outbreak can be contained. We can do that if we act very quickly now. Incidentally, we happened to have an outbreak of leopardpox yesterday as Health Minister rehearsed here, and we worked intensively on how such an outbreak can be controlled by acting quickly. I think we’re well prepared. We will now trace the contacts of the infected. We will inform specialist groups and the public in detail. The Robert Koch Institute has already set up a corresponding page. And the permanent working group of the competence and treatment centers for diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents, Stakop for short, has already informed the clinics. Finally, we will analyze the virus in more detail. There are two variants of this virus, a Congo variant and a West African variant. We will find out in the course of the day whether it is the West African variant, which is at least to be assumed for now. That would be the variant that is also less difficult. And we will inform the population promptly so that we are well prepared here too.”