2023-05-05 14:09:14
One year after the beginning of a major outbreak, monkeypox is hardly an issue in Germany – for the World Health Organization (WHO), the pathogen is still one of the three most dangerous virus groups from the animal world. They should be constantly monitored. “We could have a virus variant in three years that is much less easy to contain – that’s a real risk,” said WHO monkeypox expert Rosamund Lewis of the dpa.
Exactly one year ago, a new sinister disease appeared in Europe: monkeypox, now called Mpox. Fear spread: will a new wave of disease hit the world as soon as the devastating coronavirus pandemic has subsided? Great Britain reported the first case to the WHO on May 7, 2022. Most of the newly affected countries have now brought the outbreaks under control again.
The Mpox virus, previously only known in Africa, suddenly spread from person to person in other countries in 2022
The other two virus groups that WHO closely monitors are avian influenza viruses and viral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, including dengue fever, yellow fever, zika and chikungunya.
The Mpox virus, which was practically only known from a few African countries, suddenly spread from person to person in other countries on a larger scale in 2022. More than 87,000 Mpox cases, including 130 deaths, have been reported to the WHO from 111 countries since the beginning of 2022. A public health emergency of international scope (PHEIC) is still in force today. This is the highest alert that WHO can issue.
The virus could mutate, become more contagious, or infect a vulnerable population that has so far been spared.
Sylvie Briand, WHO
“It is worrying that it has stepped out of its ecological niche in Central and West Africa,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Division in Geneva. “The virus could change, become more contagious or infect a vulnerable population group that has previously been spared,” such as pregnant women or young children. “The disease could take a much more severe course in these groups.” So far, it has mainly been men who have sex with men who have been affected.
Germany was among the ten countries with the highest case reports, behind the US with more than 30,000 cases, Brazil, Spain, France, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the UK. That only says something about the distribution to a limited extent. Not all countries have a good surveillance system. According to the WHO, there are limited testing options, especially in African countries.
In Germany, almost 3,700 Mpox cases and no deaths have been reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) since May 2022. After a sharp increase, the number of cases fell significantly from August. The vast majority of those infected were men, with less than one percent women, adolescents and children. According to the RKI, no case has been registered since the end of January 2023. However, the RKI warns that the numbers could increase, for example if more events with many participants take place again in spring.
There are three vaccines that significantly reduce the risk of infection. Mpox infection spreads among humans through close physical contact. It usually brings fever, headache and muscle pain and a skin rash with pustules. The virus probably originally came from small mammals such as sun or chipmunks or giant hamster rats. Mpox is related to the classic human pox virus, which was eradicated in the 1980s and had raged for centuries. (dpa)
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