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Monkeypox on doorknobs: possible, but unlikely (symbol image)
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
People who have monkeypox can be highly contagious for a few days or weeks.
The virus is mainly transmitted via droplet and smear infections - for example via close skin contact.
The secretion from the smallpox is particularly infectious, even if it is already healing.
A research team at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) has now discovered that the viruses can also stick to surfaces.
According to the study, surfaces that were touched by the sick were sometimes highly contaminated with the virus.
For this purpose, the scientists took swab samples from surfaces in the hospital rooms of two monkeypox patients in the UKE.
The researchers were able to detect up to a million virus components on surfaces that had come into direct contact with the patients' skin.
In contaminated laundry there were even up to ten million virus components.
The experts found high concentrations of the virus, especially in the bathrooms and in the beds of the infected, for example on the toilet seat, on the faucet or on the bed sheets.
High concentrations of the virus were also found on the chairs on which the infected said they had sat a lot and on their smartphone screens, as well as on the doorknobs that they touched regularly.
Although the results suggest that infection via contaminated surfaces is possible in principle, they cannot prove it.
"We assume that surfaces would have to be very heavily contaminated in order to be able to get infected through contact with these surfaces," said Johannes Knobloch, head of the study and the UKE's hospital hygiene department.
This probably mainly affects people who care for affected patients and people who live with a sick person.
"According to current knowledge, there is no danger from publicly accessible hand contact surfaces such as door handles or elevator buttons," says Knobloch.
The UKE team also managed to grow monkeypox viruses from surfaces - but only from the most heavily contaminated surfaces.
This suggests that the viruses found are not just inactive viruses, but that at least part of the measured load was still intact and therefore contagious.
“Our results match previous observations that in most cases people can only become infected if they come into very close contact with a sick person,” says Knobloch, according to a statement from the clinic.
"At the same time, our results show that medical staff should strictly adhere to the recommended protective measures when caring for affected patients."
Wash laundry at at least 60 degrees
For people who live in a household with an infected person, the finding means nothing new.
Because even before that, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommended that those infected should isolate themselves as completely as possible.
The website states: "If people live with other people, they should stay in one room, ideally with access to a private bathroom, for as long as they have the rash.
Bedding and household items should not be shared with other people.
The monkeypox virus is able to survive on surfaces or fabrics for long periods of time (days to months).«
The kitchen, hallway, bathroom and other common rooms should not be used more often than is absolutely necessary.
Household members should wear protective gloves when in direct contact with the infected person or their laundry.
Frequently touched objects such as bathroom fixtures or toilet seats should be disinfected after use.
Laundry should be washed at at least 60 degrees with heavy-duty detergent.
Carpets, curtains and other furniture can therefore be steam cleaned (read the RKI memo for household members here).
In Germany, more than 1000 cases of monkeypox have now been recorded.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a total of 1054 transmitted cases from all federal states in an online overview as of Friday.
The first cases of monkeypox in Germany became known about six weeks ago.
According to the current state of knowledge, the actually rare viral disease, of which several thousand cases have been detected worldwide, is mainly transmitted through close physical contact from person to person.
kry/dpa
