Monkeypox in Germany: You should pay attention to these symptoms
Created: 05/25/2022, 08:52
By: Marcus Giebel
After a good two years, Covid-19 seems to have lost its terror.
But now monkeypox is suddenly appearing in Europe.
What are the symptoms of the virus?
Munich - With the monkeypox, another contagious and potentially dangerous disease seems to be spreading in Europe.
In the middle of the corona pandemic, which according to experts is not over yet.
There have been confirmed cases of the virus, which is common in some parts of Africa, in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and also Germany.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the virus is mainly transmitted to humans “from animals, probably mainly rodents”.
Infections from person to person are “rare according to current knowledge, but possible, especially in close contact”.
The RKI cites “contact with bodily fluids or scabs of those infected with monkeypox” as a source of danger, and the monkeypox virus could “probably also jump over the course of sexual acts”.
Monkeypox symptoms in Germany: Infection "through excreted respiratory secretions" possible
In the so-called prodromal phase - i.e. the precursor phase with the symptoms preceding the disease - infection "through excreted respiratory secretions" cannot be ruled out.
The German Aidshilfe also mentions “contact with used clothing or laundry, such as hand towels”.
According to the RKI, the risk is greater with "contact with the skin lesions, blood, tissue or excrements of infected animals".
People can also become infected “when handling the meat of diseased animals”.
Symptoms of monkeypox: fever and pain in the head and back
But how can you tell that the monkeypox virus has infected your own body?
The RKI names the following as the first monkey poke symptoms and thus warning signs:
Fever
headache
Muscle aches
back pain
swollen lymph nodes
A few days - according to the German Aidshilfe about five days - so-called skin efflorescences can form, which go through four phases:
also read
Monkeypox: Two new cases, first contacts in quarantine - Lauterbach wants to "react hard"
Texas elementary school shooting: death toll rises - Biden: "I'm disgusted and tired"
Macula (skin changes color while maintaining consistency)
Papula (small nodules up to 0.5 centimeters in size form)
Vesicles (bubbles form due to fluid accumulation, the skin bulges)
Pustula (pus forms in the blisters)
Ultimately, according to the RKI, these skin efflorescences crust over and fall off.
They initially appear mainly on the face and then spread to other parts of the body.
The first cases in May 2022 also included skin lesions in the urogenital area, i.e. around the urinary and genital organs.
New virus in Europe: so far, monkeypox has mainly been at home in Africa.
© IMAGO / Bihlmayer photography
Symptoms of monkeypox: According to the RKI, those infected recover within several weeks
The RKI specifies the incubation period - i.e. the time between infection and the onset of the disease - as seven to 21 days.
This circumstance could also make quarantine measures necessary.
The course is usually milder than human smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980, and in most cases people recover “within several weeks”.
It goes on to say: "Overall, the prognosis can therefore be rated as favorable, but some sufferers can also experience severe courses." eleven percent.
(mg)