Status: 30.06.2022 15:32
The first case of monkeypox was reported in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGuS) announced that it was an infection found in Berlin in a man who had been reported in the northeast.
The infected person was reported in the Mecklenburg district of Seenplate, probably infected by someone else in Berlin, it is stated. From there, the case was reported on June 24. The place of first residence is decisive for the assignment of cases.
So far almost 1,000 cases in Germany
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there have been around 970 cases of monkeypox in Germany. Berlin was particularly affected. A specialist in tropical medicine from Rostock, Emil Reisinger, recently expressed optimism that the pandemic in Germany could quickly catch on again. Expansion is slow in this country.
VIDEO: Monkey pox: how dangerous is the virus? (4 min)
Loeffler Institute: A long-term occurrence in Europe is unlikely
According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), the permanent occurrence of monkeypox in animals is very unlikely in Europe. For this to happen, the pathogen would have to spread from humans to animals and spread through the population. However, it is questionable whether there are animal species in Europe that could be considered suitable reservoir hosts, writes the Federal Research Institute in charge of animal health. However, further developments must be observed.
Monkeypox is a less serious disease than smallpox
Monkeypox is considered a less serious disease than smallpox, which has been eradicated since 1980. According to the RKI, the incubation period is 5 to 21 days. Symptoms, such as fever and rash, usually go away on their own within a few weeks, but can lead to medical complications and, in very rare cases, death in some people.
The pathogen was first discovered in 1958
Monkey pox is a viral disease. The pathogen was first discovered in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958 – hence the name monkeypox. However, experts doubt that the pathogen actually circulates in squirrels and rodents. Monkeys – like humans – are considered false hosts. Until now, monkeypox infections in humans were known primarily from the West and Central African region.
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