After Bavaria, cases of monkeypox are now also being registered in North Rhine-Westphalia. The cathedral city of Cologne reports three infections and one suspected case. According to the authorities, the four people are in isolation.
According to municipal information, the first cases of monkeypox infection have also been confirmed in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the city, there are several proven infections in Cologne. “We now have three confirmed cases and one suspected case where the test result is still pending,” said a city spokeswoman. Among the three confirmed monkeypox cases is the one that became known the day before as the first suspected case in North Rhine-Westphalia. All four people are in quarantine at home.
The first proven case in Germany was reported from Bavaria last week. Several other federal states have now reported evidence of infections, including Saxony-Anhalt, Baden-Württemberg and Berlin. At the beginning of May, a monkeypox case was detected in Great Britain – according to experts, the pathogen was probably already circulating in many countries.
According to health authorities, the virus usually causes only mild symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain and skin rash. However, monkeypox can also have severe courses, and fatal illnesses are possible in individual cases. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) assumes an overall increase in monkeypox diseases in Germany. It is clear that further cases are to be expected in this country, according to RKI boss Lothar Wieler. The virus has been known since 1958 and was first detected in humans in Africa in 1970.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on the sidelines of the German Doctors’ Day in Bremen: “What we are currently experiencing with monkeypox is not the beginning of a new pandemic.” It is a known pathogen and we know how to combat it. Good contact tracking and caution can get the situation under control.
