Robert Koch Institute: Child infected with monkeypox for the first time

In Baden-Württemberg, a four-year-old fell ill with monkeypox. This emerges from a report by the Robert Koch Institute. The child lives with two infected adults and has no symptoms.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) speaks for the first time of a monkeypox infection in a child. According to the RKI situation report, it lives in a household with two infected adults. It is a four-year-old girl from Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg, according to an RKI database as of Monday. The media had previously reported.

Just last week, the RKI became aware of the first infections among young people aged 15 and 17.

According to the Ministry of Health in Baden-Württemberg, the girl has no symptoms of illness. As a precaution, the child was medically examined after a case became known in the household. A throat swab was then used to diagnose monkeypox. There are no other close contacts outside of the household.

Almost 3000 cases registered in Germany

Around two and a half months after the first monkeypox detection in Germany, a total of 2916 cases were reported to the RKI by Monday. In almost all cases it is men. So far, only seven cases of infected women have been sent to the RKI.

“According to current knowledge, close contact is required for transmission of the pathogen,” it said. The transmissions occurred primarily in the context of sexual activities. “As far as is known, most of those affected do not become seriously ill,” writes the RKI.