Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) - According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, a monkeypox infection has also been detected in Hesse. The state authority announced on Tuesday evening in Wiesbaden that the result had been confirmed by the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital in Frankfurt using electron microscopy and PCR. The infected person came to the university clinic on Tuesday with the corresponding symptoms. The age and gender of the person concerned could not initially be found out.
The first proven case in Germany was reported from Bavaria last week. The man concerned is said to have been temporarily in Frankfurt am Main. Several other federal states have now reported evidence of monkeypox infections.
Hesse's Health Minister Kai Klose (Greens) announced on Tuesday evening that the general risk of infection for the population was considered low. "Nevertheless, we are of course following developments very closely." Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had previously stated that an ordered isolation of at least 21 days should be recommended for infected people in Germany.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals, most likely rodents. Transmission from person to person is rare, but possible, especially in very close contact. The incubation period for monkeypox is between seven and 21 days. The first symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, muscle and back pain and swollen lymph nodes. A widespread skin rash may occur.
