Status: 08.06.2022 5:07 p.m
Since May, the WHO has recorded more than 1,000 cases of monkeypox in previously unaffected countries. For Germany, the RKI reported a total of 113 infections – the day before the number was 80.
The number of reported monkeypox cases in previously unaffected countries has risen to more than 1,000 since May. That said the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. There is a real risk of monkeypox becoming established in those countries where the virus is not endemic. However, according to Tedros, this is avoidable. In the current outbreak of the virus, which began in May, 29 countries reported cases.
According to the WHO, it is not clear whether an infection – unlike smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980 – provides lifelong immunity. There are known cases in Africa in which people have become infected again after recovery, said monkeypox expert Rosamund Lewis.
113 cases known in Germany
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has so far reported 113 infections in Germany. “All the cases in Germany reported to the RKI are men,” said a spokeswoman. On Tuesday, the authority was aware of 80 cases nationwide.
A large part of the reported infections can be traced back to the capital: As of Tuesday evening, the Berlin health administration had 72 people affected, 13 of whom were being treated in the hospital. According to previous data, Germany seems to be one of the European countries with a particularly large number of virus detections, alongside countries such as Great Britain, Spain and Portugal.
The virus is usually transmitted through close physical contact. According to the first evidence in this country, a report by the Federal Ministry of Health stated that party events “in which sexual acts took place” in Berlin are also considered places where people were exposed to the virus.
WHO checks vaccine quantities
The WHO is currently checking how much vaccine against smallpox is available worldwide. Countries would have always had supplies to arm themselves against a possible new outbreak. Because it is the same family of viruses, this vaccine is also effective against monkeypox, according to the WHO.
The organization assumes that there is enough vaccine to contain the current outbreaks. But more vaccine is needed if the number of cases increases sharply, said WHO expert Sylvie Briand. The WHO is in talks with vaccine manufacturers about capacities.
“Unfortunate Reflection of the World”
Monkeypox is considered a less serious disease than smallpox. Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, and skin rashes, which usually start on the face and spread to the rest of the body.
WHO chief Tedros recalled that the first case of monkeypox in a human was detected in Africa in 1970 and the pathogens have been circulating there for a long time. More than 1,400 people have been infected and 66 have died on the continent since the beginning of the year. “It is an unfortunate reflection of the world we live in that the international community is only now paying attention to monkeypox because it has occurred in high-income countries,” Tedros said.