The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Monkeypox: More cases in Great Britain - Probably particularly dangerous for children

2022-05-16T03:16:14.682Z


Monkeypox: More cases in Great Britain - Probably particularly dangerous for children Created: 05/16/2022, 05:02 By: Anna Lorenz Following a first documented case of monkeypox last Sunday (May 8), two more people in the UK have been infected with the virus. Is the next epidemic imminent? LONDON - On Saturday May 14, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that two more people had contr


Monkeypox: More cases in Great Britain - Probably particularly dangerous for children

Created: 05/16/2022, 05:02

By: Anna Lorenz

Following a first documented case of monkeypox last Sunday (May 8), two more people in the UK have been infected with the virus.

Is the next epidemic imminent?

LONDON - On Saturday May 14, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that two more people had contracted the monkeypox virus.

A first case of the disease was registered in the United Kingdom last week.

It was pointed out that the person concerned was in Nigeria and was believed to have contracted the infection there before traveling to the UK.

The emergence of further cases seems alarming, especially in view of the corona pandemic.

Monkeypox in the UK: Two more cases registered - Those affected have been isolated

According to the UKHSA, two people living in one household are affected by the monkeypox virus.

While one is currently in domestic isolation, the other is being treated as an inpatient.

A connection to the previous monkeypox case is not recognizable according to the authorities.

To date, however, it is not clear where the infected contracted the virus.

According to the UKHSA, monkeypox is not usually life-threatening;

however, the pathogens, which are mainly transmitted by rodents, squirrels and primates, are classified by the RKI in risk group 3.

According to paragraph three of the Biological Substances Ordinance, this means that the virus can “cause a serious illness in humans”.

Although the probability of becoming infected with monkeypox in Germany is low, the RKI assumes that due to the declining protection against smallpox vaccination, infection through contact with the virus is becoming increasingly likely.

The Institute points out that the "(primary) transmissibility from person to person [...] has increased from originally 30% in individual cases in the 1980s to 73% of the cases documented in 1997 in the DR Congo".

Monkeypox in Europe: Children are at greater risk – no vaccination possible in Germany

Human smallpox viruses are particularly dangerous for children.

The recent monkeypox outbreak in Congo showed an increased risk of infected youth.

(Archive image) © picture alliance / dpa |

dpa

As a result, infection is more likely, especially for children who, for example, have an increased risk on the playground of ingesting the virus left behind by infected squirrels, mice or rats via contact with animal blood, secretions or droplet infection.

During the last outbreaks in the 1990s in the Congo, more and more people under the age of 16 were affected;

two percent of infected children under the age of eight died within three weeks.

However, it should be borne in mind that the three known cases in Great Britain so far do not indicate an acute danger situation in the United Kingdom, let alone in the whole of Europe.

It is also important to remember that while risk level 3 means "there may be a risk of community spread", there is "usually effective prevention or treatment available".

According to the RKI, smallpox vaccination is considered effective protection against monkeypox, but since the WHO considers smallpox diseases to be eradicated, no such vaccine is permitted today.

The WHO and CDC also do not recommend smallpox vaccination because of possible side effects.

However, the authorities assume that infected people usually do not have to fear a violent course.

Therapy is symptom-related with the aim of preventing further infections.

In the course of the disease, which can last up to four weeks, there is constant infectiousness,

The cases in Great Britain must therefore be examined carefully – according to the authorities, however, there is no reason for general concern to date, as it is assumed that the virus will not spread to the population.

(askl with dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-05-16

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.