The BW Ministry of Health announced that a girl from Pforzheim was not infected with monkeypox after all. It tested positive last week.
The four-year-old girl from Pforzheim, which according to the authorities had tested positive for monkeypox last week, according to further tests, is not infected with the virus. “The child doesn’t have monkeypox,” said the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Health on Monday in Stuttgart.
The responsible local health department will withdraw the case, said a spokesman for the ministry. The reason for this is that the positive finding was not confirmed by a further diagnostic clarification for monkeypox in the laboratory of the state health department.
Monkeypox infection could be excluded
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced the case last week. According to the RKI situation report, the girl lives in a household with two infected adults. According to the Ministry of Health, a throat swab from the child was therefore examined as a precautionary measure on August 5 with a PCR test for the genetic material of the monkeypox virus. The result was initially positive. Because the girl did not show any signs of illness, both the original sample and two other throat swabs from the child were also examined by the state health department using specific monkeypox PCR.
“A monkeypox infection of the child could be ruled out,” the ministry said. Incorrect results could be caused, among other things, by contamination during the test procedure or sampling, the statement said. It is therefore important, as was the case in this case, to follow up on further investigations if the constellations are unclear.
Symptoms disappear within a few weeks
Monkeypox is considered a less severe disease compared to smallpox, which has been eradicated since 1980. According to the RKI, the incubation period is five to 21 days. Symptoms, including fever and rash, usually go away within a few weeks. However, in some people they can lead to medical complications and, in very rare cases, death.