The monkeypox virus is spreading more and more - also in NRW. How great is the demand for vaccination.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In North Rhine-Westphalia, 448 cases of monkeypox have been reported so far. This was announced by the State Ministry of Health at the request of the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf and referred to data that was available by Friday.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), more than 6,000 cases worldwide have been reported to the World Health Organization, more than 2,000 of them from Germany. Monkeypox cases were first identified in Germany last May.
According to the RKI, monkeypox is a viral disease that is mainly associated with symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle and back pain and a rash with blisters or pustules. According to current knowledge, transmission occurs primarily through sexual activities, especially in men who have sexual contact with other men. Infections in women have so far hardly been reported. As far as is known, most of those affected do not become seriously ill. The RKI currently assesses the risk of a hazard to the health of the general population as low.
People with a high risk of infection have been able to be vaccinated against monkeypox free of charge in NRW for about two weeks. The vaccine was made available to HIV and infection outpatient clinics at the university clinics and corresponding specialist practices. The decision to vaccinate is at the discretion of the physician.
The State Ministry of Health is currently collecting the exact number of vaccine doses that have been administered in North Rhine-Westphalia so far. Results are expected towards the end of the month, said a spokeswoman for the dpa. However, the ministry has already received feedback from the vaccinating practices that “the monkeypox vaccine has been very well received and there is high demand for it”.
