Monkeypox quarantine imposed in first EU country - WHO sees "urgent" need for action

Created: 05/23/2022, 09:53 am

By: Jennifer Lanzinger, Christoph Gschoßmann

This electron micrograph shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus (l) and spherical immature virions (r) derived from a human skin sample.

© Cynthia S. Goldsmith/Russell Regner/CDC/AP/dpa

Cases of monkeypox infection in humans are increasing.

Experts urge vigilance.

The WHO calls for a package of measures.

• Mysterious monkeypox infections: Cases of monkeypox are increasing in Europe and North America.

• The WHO considers a package of measures to be urgently needed.

• France reports case of monkeypox: After Italy and Belgium, France is now also affected.

• Unusual skin rash: Men in particular should be made aware of the topic.

Update from May 22, 6:05 p.m .:

The cases of monkeypox continue to increase in several countries.

The WHO sees an “urgent” need for action.

A first EU country has now introduced a quarantine for infected people.

“More cases are being detected every day” in the UK.

You can follow further developments regarding the monkeypox virus in our new ticker.

Update from May 22, 4 p.m.:

More and more cases of monkeypox are being reported in several countries.

Belgium is now probably the first country to introduce a mandatory quarantine for infected people.

This is reported, among other things, by

and the British

Accordingly, infected people must isolate themselves for 21 days.

Contact persons should not have been affected by the monkeypox quarantine so far.

Further cases have also occurred in Germany.

However, there are vaccines and drugs that can protect against infection, as

reports.

Monkeypox: First suspected case in Austria

Update from May 22, 3:06 p.m .:

Now there is also the first suspected case of monkeypox in Austria.

According to ORF information, a 35-year-old was taken to a hospital in Vienna on Sunday night.

He therefore shows the typical symptoms, such as a slight fever and pustules on the face.

Update from May 22, 1:25 p.m .:

The number of monkeypox detections will continue to increase in the near future.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other experts expect this.

In order to stop the spread, it is "urgently necessary" to raise awareness of the viral disease, said the WHO in Geneva on Saturday night.

In addition, cases would have to be identified and isolated comprehensively, and routes of infection would have to be traced.

Experts see no reason for concern for the general public.

Three cases of the viral disease have now been confirmed in Germany, one in Munich and two in Berlin.

As of Saturday, the WHO reports around 90 confirmed infections and 30 suspected cases in countries where the virus, which is native to West and Central Africa, does not normally occur.

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The infections are atypical because most of those affected have not previously traveled to these countries.

The fact that the cases are found across Europe suggests that the virus has been passed on for a while.

In Europe, cases have so far been reported from Spain, Great Britain, France, Italy and Switzerland.

There was also evidence of the disease in Australia, Canada and the USA.

Switzerland also reports its first monkeypox case

Update from May 21, 7:03 p.m .:

Switzerland is now also reporting the first case of infection with the monkeypox virus.

The health department of the canton of Bern reports that the person concerned would probably have been infected abroad.

The sick person was in outpatient treatment and isolated at home, it said.

All contacts have been informed.

A spokesman for the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv also announced the first case of monkeypox in Israel.

A 30-year-old man who recently returned from western Europe with symptoms of the infectious disease has tested positive for the virus.

Netherlands enacts monkeypox reporting requirements

Update from May 21, 6:32 p.m .:

The State Health Service of the Netherlands (RIVM) has now issued a reporting requirement for monkeypox.

Doctors must therefore inform the authority as soon as they suspect an infection with the virus.

There have already been two confirmed cases of monkeypox in the Netherlands.

The obligation to report is intended to bring the infection process under control at an early stage and countermeasures, such as quarantine for infected people, to be taken.

Sweden classifies monkeypox as a dangerous disease

Update from May 21, 10:07 a.m .:

After the first confirmed case of monkeypox infection in Sweden, the country’s government classified the rare viral disease as dangerous for the general public.

"The classification makes it possible to take measures to prevent infection in order to prevent further spread," explained Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren.

"It is also important that the information reaches risk groups and that the health services are prepared to treat and follow up suspected cases." In Sweden, the first case of monkeypox was registered in the greater Stockholm area on Thursday.

Monkeypox cases in Belgium appear to be linked to fetish festival

Update from May 21, 9:55 a.m .:

The monkeypox cases in Belgium are apparently related to a large fetish festival in Antwerp.

Organizers of the Darklands Festival, held in early May, said on Friday that Belgian authorities had linked the contagion to the festival.

Belgium has so far officially confirmed three cases of monkeypox.

In Spain, a gay sauna was forced to close temporarily over a suspected link to a monkeypox outbreak.

The Belgian festival organizers said on their website that there was "a reasonable assumption" that the virus was probably transmitted by visitors from abroad.

The festival management was asked by the Belgian government to inform the festival guests.

According to the organizers, the Darklands Festival is aimed at the "various groups of the gay fetish community".

According to the organizers, clubs and organizations are behind the festival and more than 150 volunteers work there.

Commercial events take place during the day and parties in the evening.

Monkeypox: Well over 100 cases worldwide

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

The Charité infectiologist Leif Sander sees an unusually dynamic situation with the now well over 100 cases worldwide in which monkeypox is suspected or has already been confirmed.

"With the long incubation period, I expect a further significant increase in cases," he wrote on Twitter.

It should be noted that monkeypox is not so contagious that it can be expected to spread over a wide area like Corona.

"It is very serious, but we are prepared."

The observed accumulation is already an epidemic - but 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 Pathogen 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.

Monkeypox has now also arrived in Germany - the number of cases in Europe is increasing sharply

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.

Cases of monkeypox, which actually occurs very rarely, are currently being detected in more and more countries.

France also reported a first case on Friday, and the virus was also discovered in Australia and thus in another region of the world.

The extent to which the pathogen, which originated in Africa, has already spread internationally is unclear.

With the large number of cases, he assumes that the virus has been circulating unnoticed for a while, said the doctor Norbert Brockmeyer, President of the German STI Society.

STI stands for Sexually Transmitted Infections.

According to a media report, 30 cases have now been confirmed in Spain.

There are also 23 suspected cases, the newspaper “La Vanguardia” reported on Friday, citing the Ministry of Health.

According to the newspaper Publico, 23 cases have been confirmed in Portugal.

According to the authorities in France, a 29-year-old is affected in the greater Paris area who had not previously traveled to a country where the virus circulates.

So far, monkeypox has mainly affected men - German Aidshilfe warns of stigmatization

In Australia, the pathogen was confirmed in a man around 30 years old who had recently returned from Great Britain, according to the responsible health authority.

In the UK, meanwhile, the number of cases recorded rose from 9 to 20, British Health Minister Sajid Javid said on Friday.

The country has bought smallpox vaccine - how much and who should be vaccinated with it was initially unclear.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had called for a rigorous follow-up of all contacts of those affected.

Clinics and the population would have to be made aware of the symptoms.

The majority or possibly even all of the cases so far have involved men, and in many cases they reportedly had sexual contact with men.

According to Brockmeyer, people who have sexual contact with many different people are most at risk of infection.

The German Aidshilfe warned against wrong conclusions and stigmatization in view of the cases in gay men.

“Of course, there are superficial similarities between monkeypox and HIV back then - it's another disease from Africa that also affects gay men.

But the comparison doesn't fit in many other respects," said AIDS spokesman Holger Wicht.

In contrast to HIV, the virus that causes monkeypox was known longer in the 1980s, and the disease also healed on its own.

"It is very important to us that panic and unreasonable fears do not arise here." There are still uncertainties when assessing the severity of the disease - for example about how well immunocompromised people - this can include, for example, HIV-infected people who have not been treated for many years - cope with the disease.

Monkey pox has now arrived in Germany - first case reported

Update from May 20, 12:25 p.m .:

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.

Update from May 20, 11:19 a.m

.: A case of monkeypox has now also been detected in France.

A 29-year-old man in the Paris area who had not previously traveled to a country where the virus circulated was affected, the health authorities said on Friday.

Since the man has no serious symptoms, he was isolated at home.

Contact persons would be identified and would be given rules of conduct to prevent the virus from spreading.

Further investigations were ordered.

Cases of monkeypox (monkeypox) have so far occurred in ten countries:

Mysterious cases of monkeypox in men - German Aidshilfe warns against panic

Update May 20, 7:17 a.m

.: Men are affected in most known cases of monkeypox.

The German Aidshilfe warns against wrong conclusions and stigmatization.

“Of course, there are superficial similarities between monkeypox and HIV back then – it's another disease from Africa that also affects gay men.

But the comparison doesn't fit in many other respects," said AIDS spokesman Holger Wicht of the dpa news agency.

In contrast to HIV, the virus that causes monkeypox was known longer in the 1980s, and the disease also healed on its own.

"It is very important to us that panic and unreasonable fears do not arise here." However, there are still uncertainties when assessing the severity of the disease: for example, how well immunocompromised people - this can include, for example, HIV-infected people who have not been treated for many years - cope with the disease.

After the experience with HIV, one fears the stigmatization of gay men and people from Africa, said Wicht.

He also recalled the exclusions and finger pointing at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, which were directed against people from Asia - and against people who were perceived as Asian.

Monkeypox: First case reported from Belgium

Update from May 19, 11:57 p.m.:

According to a report, a first case of monkeypox has been detected in Belgium.

The infected person reported to the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, the public broadcaster VRT reported on Thursday evening, citing the researcher Isabel Brosius.

The infected person was not very ill, it said.

The person's contacts would be identified.

Update from May 19, 9:35 p.m .:

Monkeypox is currently causing an unusual accumulation of infections.

What does this mean for Europe?

And how dangerous are they for us?

This is what the virus looks like, these are the symptoms and this is how you get infected.

Update from May 19, 2:25 p.m .:

More and more countries are reporting monkeypox cases, now Italy has also registered a case of the virus disease.

The Assessor of Health for the Lazio Region, Alessio D'Amato, confirmed on Thursday a first recorded case of the virus infection.

D'Amato wrote on Facebook that he informed Health Minister Roberto Speranza about the finding, which had been confirmed by the National Institute for Infectious Diseases.

The institute announced a press release for Thursday.

The Ansa news agency reported that the infected person was a man who returned from a trip to the Canary Islands and went to a hospital in Rome.

It was said that he was isolated there.

Monkeypox now also in Sweden - More and more countries are reporting virus cases

Update from May 19, 1:40 p.m .:

The first case of infection with the virus disease monkeypox was confirmed in Sweden on Thursday.

As the Swedish health authority announced, one person in the greater Stockholm area is infected.

"The person infected with the virus in Sweden is not seriously ill, but is being treated," said infection medicine specialist Klara Sondén, according to the announcement.

“We don’t yet know where the person got infected.

Investigations are ongoing.” Sweden is the fourth country in Europe to have registered a case of monkeypox.

In the meantime, monkeypox has also arrived in the USA (see original message below).

According to the Swedish Health Authority, the most common symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, general malaise and a skin rash with blisters.

The authority is now investigating whether there are other cases in Sweden.

Monkeypox now arrived in the USA - Three European countries are also reporting the first cases

Original notification from May 19, 2022:

New York – In most cases, they cause mild symptoms, but they can also have severe courses: monkeypox.

After several cases in Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, they have now also been found in the USA.

The Robert Koch Institute also published a statement on monkeypox this week.

Monkeypox has now also arrived in the USA: Three other countries are reporting the first cases

As the health authority CDC announced on Wednesday, the disease was registered in a resident of the state of Massachusetts in the northeast of the country.

The person had recently traveled to Canada, but the virus had been detected in the United States.

Monkeypox is usually transmitted through the air.

In some of the recent cases, however, experts suspected fluid infection because the patients were gay men.

In view of the cases in Great Britain, the Robert Koch Institute had recently made doctors in Germany aware of the virus infection.

RKI provides information about monkeypox - men in particular should be vigilant under certain circumstances

An article published by the RKI states that 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.

Up to now, monkeypox has mainly been known to occur in some regions of Africa.

According to the RKI, men who have sex with men should “immediately seek medical care” if they have any unusual skin changes.

It is only a matter of time before the first cases of monkeypox appear in Germany, reports

.

According to the health authority UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the number of recorded cases of the rare disease in Great Britain had increased to seven from Monday.

Two more cases had already been reported in the UK by Wednesday.

The two most recent cases in London and south-east England are not linked to travel to countries where the disease is endemic.

It is therefore possible that the contagion could have spread from person to person in Great Britain, the message said on Wednesday evening.

The first infection, which became known in Great Britain at the beginning of May, is said to be due to an infection in Nigeria.

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

Children in particular have to be careful, reports

.

Smallpox has been considered eradicated worldwide since 1980 following a major vaccination campaign.

Experts suspect that the monkeypox pathogen circulates in rodents, and monkeys are considered false hosts.