On Tuesday there were 80, now 113 infections with monkeypox are known in Germany. By far the largest part of the infections is reported from Berlin. In Europe, Germany is now one of the countries with the most evidence of the virus.
Around three weeks after the first detection of monkeypox in Germany, the number of infections recorded by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has risen to 113. "All the cases in Germany reported to the RKI are men," said a spokeswoman for the institute on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the RKI was only aware of 80 cases nationwide.
A large part of the reported infections can be traced back to the capital: As of Tuesday evening, the Berlin health administration had 72 people affected, 13 of whom were being treated in the hospital. According to previous data, Germany seems to be one of the European countries with a particularly large number of virus detections, alongside countries such as Great Britain, Spain and Portugal.
Monkeypox is considered a less serious disease compared to smallpox, which has been eradicated since 1980. According to the RKI, the pathogen is usually transmitted from person to person through close physical contact. Experts assume that the outbreak can be contained. The risk to the general public is still considered to be low.
Symptoms (including fever and skin rash, for example) 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. Experts had warned of the virus spreading, for example at upcoming festivals and parties.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe last week, investigations into previous cases suggest that the outbreak in the WHO Europe region was already underway in mid-April. It is the largest and most geographically widespread monkeypox outbreak ever reported outside of the endemic areas of West and Central Africa.
