More and more monkeypox cases: Lauterbach is preparing measures

After cases in Berlin and Bavaria, monkeypox infections have now also been detected in Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg. Germany soon wants to make recommendations for dealing with the virus as soon as possible.

So far, monkeypox has mainly occurred in West and Central Africa. Now that monkeypox has appeared in Canada, the USA and several European countries at the same time, the World Health Assembly in Geneva discussed it today.

In Germany, too, containment measures are being prepared after the first cases have occurred. Recommendations on isolation and quarantine are currently being developed, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly. He assumes that they could be presented as early as Tuesday.

In addition, one thinks about vaccination recommendations for particularly vulnerable people. Lauterbach said he had already contacted a manufacturer that makes vaccines specifically for monkeypox.

Ministry of Health expects limited outbreak

With Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg, two other federal states have reported evidence of the infection. Cases in Berlin and Bavaria were previously known. Samples from numerous other people are being analyzed, and authorities are also looking for contact persons who have been proven to be infected.

The Federal Ministry of Health expects further infections, but with a limited outbreak. Symptoms include fever, headache and muscle pain, and a rash on the skin. The virus is actually transmitted from animals to humans, but with very close contact, those who are ill can also infect other people.

More than 100 current cases have now been identified worldwide. Because of the long incubation period of up to three weeks, experts expect many more reports in the near future. It is still unclear whether the virus, which has been known for more than 40 years, may have changed, said experts from the World Health Organization in Geneva.

Low risk for general population

According to the Robert Koch Institute, a conventional smallpox vaccination protects. Vaccination was mandatory in West Germany until 1975, in East Germany until 1982. Lauterbach explained that they were not considering vaccination for everyone, but rather a recommendation for people who were particularly at risk.

At the moment, men who have sexual contact with men are particularly affected. In general, unprotected, close physical contact with many people is considered a risk. For the general public, the RKI currently assesses the risk as low. The head of infectiology at the Berlin Charité, Leif Erik Sander, said there was actually no danger for most people. It will be a limited breakout. “Nevertheless, we don’t yet know how big it will be. Therefore, certain vigilance applies.”

The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, pleaded for a vaccination offer. “It would therefore make sense to offer vaccination to all younger people who are no longer subject to smallpox vaccination,” he told the Funke media group. “We should primarily think of the groups that are currently particularly at risk – i.e. usually younger men with a lot of changing sexual contacts.”

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the “exposure sites of the cases that have become known in Germany so far were party events, including on Gran Canaria and in Berlin, where sexual acts occurred.”

Three weeks quarantine in the UK

In the UK, people who have been in close contact with those infected with monkeypox should be quarantined for three weeks. Belgian authorities ordered a 21-day isolation for infected people. This does not apply to contact persons there, they are only advised to be particularly careful.

The virologist Sander wrote on Twitter that he found quarantine “right and important in this phase”. It is a very dynamic global outbreak and too little is currently known about its extent and the chain of infection. All close contacts of infected people should be isolated to prevent further transmission as best as possible.

“Monkeypox not comparable to Corona”

Even if the infections recorded worldwide currently primarily affect men who have had sex with other men: Transmission is generally possible through close contact and via contaminated materials such as bed sheets or towels. In contrast to Corona, for example, transmission via the air hardly plays a role.

There is no need to fear the beginning of a pandemic, said Paula Piechotta, health politician for the Greens: “Basically, we are very well advised to keep communicating that monkeypox is not at all comparable to Corona. Monkeypox is not a completely new disease there have been repeated outbreaks in various countries in recent years and we are basically well prepared.”

It is still largely unclear where the origins of the current wave of infections lay. The outbreak did not come as a complete surprise, said medical official Montgomery. “Due to increasing mobility around the world and close contact between humans and animals, we have to be more and more prepared for such virus outbreaks.”

With information from Vera Wolfskkampf, ARD capital studio