Monkeypox found in Germany: What you need to know about the virus and how to avoid it

Now also in Germany – after several other European countries – bizarre monkeypox virus discovered, which is extremely rare outside of Africa. How dangerous is he?

First case of monkeypox found in Germany. The Institute for Microbiology of the Bundeswehr in Munich positively identified the virus in one patient with characteristic skin changes., announced on Friday, 20 May, medical service of the Bundeswehr. Before that, there were several outbreaks of this infectious disease in Europe. – including in the UK, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Belgium.

Cases of monkeypox in humans have so far been known mainly in parts of Africa.. current, identified in European countries, as well as in the USA and Canada, variant of the virus is considered West African, causing a milder course of the disease, than the Central African option. Physicians are concerned, how the infection is transmitted. Robert Koch Institute (RKI) already called for increased vigilance.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

Monkeypox in humans causes a skin rash with purulent pimples and blisters, which break after a while, and in their place form scabs, occasionally turning into scars, that persist throughout life.

The rash looks different depending on the phase of the disease and may resemble that of chickenpox or syphilis.. After about three to four weeks, the disease subsides.. Only in very rare cases – usually in young children – it leads to death.

The incubation period for monkeypox is 7 to 21 day, but symptoms usually appear after 10-14 days. Then, in addition to a skin rash, a headache may appear., muscle and back pain, fever, chills, exhaustion of the body and enlarged lymph nodes.

How to protect yourself from monkeypox?

There is no specific therapy or vaccination against this disease.. But doctors think, that vaccination against normal smallpox also protects relatively well against monkeypox. Although the virus of the latter is not directly related to the normal smallpox virus, both types belong to the same genus of viruses. Thus, they are quite similar, for the immune system to respond to infection.

Smallpox, striking a person, has been eradicated from all over the world 1980 thanks to a massive vaccination campaign. But, according to RKI, a significant portion of the world's population is no longer vaccinated against smallpox.

The difficult search for ways to transmit monkeypox

Human-to-human transmission of monkeypox virus requires very close contact. In most cases, the chain of infection is limited to just a few people.. Intensive research is currently underway on, whether the infection is transmitted through contact of the damaged area of ​​u200bu200bthe skin with secretions of smallpox.

About two weeks ago, when monkeypox was first detected in Europe, British health authorities were able to easily trace the origin of the infection., because the patient, apparently, brought a rare virus with him from a trip to Nigeria.

Tracking down the causes of the four recent cases is much more difficult., because infected men have not previously visited Africa and have not been in contact with other sick people. Health officials are now intensively looking for as yet unclear links between cases of diseases., since the monkeypox virus is not easily transmitted between people.

Virus transmission through close contact

Most cases, which have been reported so far, concern men, having sex with other men. Nevertheless, many British experts definitely point out that, that there is not enough evidence that, that monkeypox in humans is an infection, sexually transmitted.

“Probably, too early to draw any conclusions about modes of transmission or speculate, that sexual activity was necessary for infection, until we have clear epidemiological data and analysis”, – Michael Skinner explained, Lecturer in Virology at Imperial College London.

Professor Jimmy Whitworth, Professor of International Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), holds a similar point of view: “Close contact is the most likely route of spread in this cluster of cells.: touching skin or bedding or sharing utensils. Real transmission (infection. – Order) sexual contact through genital or oral secretions should not be taken for granted”.

If you have symptoms – get tested immediately!

The RKI report says, that monkeypox should also be considered as a possible cause when the nature of the skin changes is unclear, smallpox-like, if the victims have not traveled to certain areas. As indicated in the RKI, men, having sex with other men, should “seek medical attention immediately”, if they develop any unusual skin changes.

“We urge gay and bisexual men, in particular, be vigilant for any unusual skin rash or lesions and contact sexual health services immediately”, – adds director of the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) Susan Hopkins.

monkeypox – classic zoonotic infection

Monkeypox was first identified in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970 year. Individual cases of diseases were observed in the countries of Central and West Africa. Generally, However, World Health Organization (WHO) assesses endemic risk as extremely low. Pathogen, monkey pox, probably, circulates among rodents. Monkeys are considered so-called false owners. These may become infected, but the virus is not able to continue to develop in their body.

“The infection can be transmitted through contact with the secretions of infected animals.”, – noted in the RKI report. It is transmitted mainly through bites. (eg, protein, rats, primates), communication with animals (eg, pet), contact with the blood and secretions of animals, consumption of animal meat (eg, infected monkey) food, as well as in case of infection by droplet. Thus, it's a classic zoonosis, caused by close contact with infected animals or eating their meat.