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New concern: monkeypox pathogens under the electron microscope
Photo: Essbauer / dpa
The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for a number of measures to prevent the further spread of monkeypox.
It was "urgently necessary" to raise awareness of the virus, said the UN organization 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.
US President Joe Biden also said "everyone should be concerned about this".
Biden said on Sunday at an air force base in South Korea that the US health authorities are looking for suitable treatments and vaccines.
"We're working hard to clarify what we're going to do," Biden told reporters.
According to Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, the US has a suitable vaccine.
There is still no approved vaccine in Europe
In the EU, the vaccine, which is actually intended for human smallpox, has not yet been approved for monkeypox.
According to experts, however, this is possible, similar to the USA.
According to the WHO, the diseases, which have so far become known in Europe, North America and Australia, often – but not only – affected men who have sex with the same sex.
Due to the still limited observation situation, it is very likely that cases will appear in other population groups and countries.
No travel restrictions needed
As of Saturday, the WHO assumed around 90 confirmed infections and 30 suspected cases.
Symptoms of monkeypox in humans, which are usually mild, include fever, pustules, headache and muscle aches, and a rash that often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body.
Most people recover from the disease within several weeks without hospitalization, and death is rare.
Travel restrictions or cancellations of events in affected countries are currently not necessary from the WHO's point of view.
The organization pointed out that contagion can occur at mass events, but at the same time emphasized that precautionary measures against Covid-19 also work against monkeypox.
Three cases confirmed in Germany
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease.
Since the beginning of May 2022, the pathogen has been spreading from person to person in Europe for the first time without an epidemiological connection to West or Central Africa.
It has also been detected in several North American countries.
So far, three cases have been reported in Germany.
One day after the nationwide first case of infection was reported in Bavaria, the Berlin Senate confirmed two cases of monkeypox in the federal capital on Saturday.
Switzerland and Israel each reported their first case of infection, and a suspected case was investigated in Greece.
Charité infectiologist Leif Erik Sander explained that the dynamics of the current monkeypox outbreak are "unusual" and must therefore be taken very seriously until the chains of infection and transmission routes have been better investigated and effectively interrupted.
"So far we have observed a disproportionate increase in monkeypox infections among men, especially after sexual contact with other men," Sander explained.
»Since the infection is transmitted through close skin contact and possibly also via mucous membrane contact and droplets, I currently recommend particular caution and avoidance of close unprotected contact with unknown people.«
According to the current state of research, however, the virus is less easily passed from person to person than, for example, the Covid 19 pathogen Sars-CoV-2.
According to the current state of knowledge, close physical contact is required for transmission, which is why the RKI assumes that the outbreaks will remain limited.
The risk to the health of the general public is therefore currently assessed as low by the RKI.
ak/dpa/Reuters/AFP
