Monkeypox in Germany: First case from Munich confirmed - NRW is now beginning contact tracing

Created: 2022-05-21Updated: 2022-05-21, 13:20

By: Martina Lippl, Christoph Gschoßmann

On May 19, 2022, the Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology in Munich unequivocally confirmed the monkeypox virus in a patient in Germany for the first time.

© picture alliance/dpa/Bundeswehr/Martin Bühler/UKHSA (montage)

The Bundeswehr confirms a first case of monkeypox in Germany in Munich.

Health Minister Lauterbach expresses himself directly with an assessment.

• Monkeypox (Monkeypox): Cases of human monkeypox are increasing in Europe and North America.

• The disease is already an epidemic — but won't last long, according to one expert.

• First case in Germany: The Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology in Munich first detected the monkeypox virus in a patient on May 19, 2022.

  There are also indications of contacts with infected people in NRW.

• In adults, infection with the monkeypox virus is usually mild.

Munich monkeypox patient suffers from a milder variant

Update from May 21, 12:41 p.m .:

In the first case of monkeypox detected in Germany, the patient suffers from the milder West African of the two known virus variants.

This was the result of the genome analysis of the pathogen at the Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology, as the Bavarian Ministry of Health announced on Saturday.

The Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) currently considers the general risk of infection for the population to be low.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, the Munich patient, who comes from Brazil, is the first case of monkeypox in Germany.

Monkey pox case: NRW investigates indications of possible contacts

Update from May 21, 10:23 a.m .:

In North Rhine-Westphalia, according to the State Ministry of Health, there are indications “of possible contacts of people with the monkeypox virus”.

A spokesman for the ministry told the German Press Agency on Saturday that these tips will be followed up.

The State Center for Health is in close contact with the standing working group of the competence and treatment centers for diseases caused by highly pathogenic pathogens.

“The situation is being closely monitored;

the doctors and the health authorities are asked to be more vigilant,” added the ministry spokesman.

According to the current findings of the Robert Koch Institute, a risk to the health of the general population in Germany is considered to be low.

Update from May 21, 10:13 a.m .:

With the observed accumulation, monkeypox is already an epidemic – however, it is “very unlikely that this epidemic will last long,” said Fabian Leendertz, founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald and head of the project group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Pathogens at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The cases can be narrowed down well via contact tracing and there are drugs and effective vaccines that could be used.

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According to Leendertz, more data is urgently needed in order to be able to understand whether and how the recorded cases are related.

It is also important to decipher the genome of virus material from samples from those affected in order to check whether the pathogen has changed - for example in the direction of better transmissibility.

Monkeypox: how to protect yourself from infection?

Update from May 20, 5:10 p.m .:

More and more cases of monkeypox are becoming known in Europe and the first case has now been officially confirmed in Germany.

But how can you protect yourself from infection and is there already a vaccine?

Update from May 20, 3:40 p.m .:

According to the treating Munich Clinic Schwabing, the first reported monkeypox patient in Germany is doing relatively well.

The young man "went into medical care very responsibly immediately after the onset of symptoms to protect others from infection," said chief physician Clemens Wendtner on Friday.

With slight swallowing difficulties and an elevated temperature, he has only minor symptoms and does not yet need any special medication.

The monkeypox patient will remain in the hospital because it is expected to be infectious for three to four weeks, Wendtner said.

The monkeypox virus usually causes only very mild symptoms, but can also have severe courses.

also summarizes all important information about the pathogen

.

Monkeypox: The first patient in Germany comes from Brazil

Update from May 20, 1:50 p.m

.: The first reported monkeypox patient in Germany is a 26-year-old from Brazil.

This was announced by the Bavarian Ministry of Health on Friday.

The young man traveled from Portugal via Spain to Germany and has been in the Bavarian capital for about a week.

He had previously been to Düsseldorf and Frankfurt am Main.

The patient is now being isolated in a ward at the Munich Clinic Schwabing, the ministry said.

The Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology in Munich had previously informed that it had detected the first monkeypox case in the Federal Republic in the patient on Thursday.

Further contacts are being identified.

Monkeypox outbreak: WHO may call emergency meeting

Update from May 20, 1:24 p.m

.: The World Health Organization (WHO) is probably planning an emergency meeting after the recent monkeypox outbreaks.

This is reported by the British The Telegraph.

A group of leading experts should therefore be convened.

Because the virus is unusually common among gay and bisexual men, this could be a major topic of conversation.

Vaccination with a specific smallpox vaccine should therefore also be discussed.

Britain has also ordered smallpox vaccine.

This is also reported by the BBC at the request of the British government.

The vaccine should be offered to people at higher risk of infection.

Even if the smallpox vaccine is not specifically tailored to the monkeypox virus, it should offer some protection - especially against more serious diseases. 

Monkeypox confirmed in Germany - Lauterbach comments

First report from May 20, 2022

Munich – Cases of monkeypox are increasing in Europe and North America.

Now there is also a case of monkeypox in Germany.

This is reported by the Bundeswehr.

As the Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology announced on Friday in Munich, the virus was unequivocally detected in a patient on Thursday.

The patient showed the characteristic skin changes.

The institute did not initially give any further details.

"It was only a matter of time before monkeypox was also detected in Germany," said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in Berlin on Friday, as reported by the afp news agency.

Lauterbach assumes that the outbreak can be contained.

Monkeypox: First case confirmed in Germany - infection and symptoms

"Based on the knowledge available so far, we assume that the virus is not so easily transmitted and that this outbreak can be contained," emphasized the Minister of Health.

“But that can only succeed if you act quickly.” The virus is now being analyzed more closely and it is being checked whether it could be a more contagious variant.

According to health authorities, the virus usually causes only mild symptoms, but can also have severe courses.

In individual cases, fatal diseases are possible.

The virus is mainly transmitted via direct contact or contact with contaminated materials. Transmission via droplets in the air is also possible over shorter distances – which is probably very rare.

Epidemiologist Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia considers it very unlikely that diseases will be fatal in western countries.

But it's not impossible, he told the

.

Monkeypox is particularly dangerous for a group.

The West African variant of the virus, which occurs in Europe and the USA, kills around one percent of those infected in Africa.

There is also a Central African variant, with ten percent of cases on the continent being fatal.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, all age groups and both genders are equally susceptible.

Children are particularly affected by fatal courses in Africa.

Cases of monkeypox (monkeypox) have so far occurred in 11 countries (as of May 20, 2022)

Monkeypox in Germany/Munich: More and more infections are known

For experts, it was only a matter of time before there would be evidence of monkeypox in Germany.

"I would be surprised if we didn't find some infected people in Germany in a few days," said the President of the German STI Society Norbert Brockmeyer of the dpa news agency on Friday.

Based on the large number of cases in other Western countries, the doctor assumes that the virus has been circulating unnoticed for a while, said Brockmeyer: "Who still thinks of smallpox today?" Due to the increased attention to recent reports from Great Britain is now to be expected with a new awareness of infection and thus with increased evidence.

After initial cases in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden and France, as well as the US and Canada, reported confirmed and suspected cases.

Monkeypox: pathogens and symptoms - RKI gives advice

• Typical

  symptoms of an infection with monkeypox

  according to the RKI:

• Fever

• Head, muscle and back pain

• Swollen lymph nodes

• chills

• severe itchy rash

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) only called for vigilance on Thursday.

"In the event of a suspicious clinical picture, a monkeypox infection should be considered, especially in those returning from (West) Africa and of course in contact persons with known cases," says the Epidemiological Bulletin (May 19).

And further: monkeypox should also be considered as a possible cause in the case of unclear smallpox-like skin changes if those affected have not traveled to certain areas.