The number of new reports is slowly declining, for three weeks already.

That is the good news.

Last week, 314 new cases of monkeypox were reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) across Germany, significantly fewer than at the peak of the contagion wave in Germany in early July, when there were 418 cases.

Overall, however, the spread of the pathogen, which is native to Africa, is extremely unusual in Europe. More than 2,700 cases have been reported to the RKI since the beginning of the wave in May.

Kim Bjorn Becker

Editor in Politics.

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The risk of the general population from monkeypox, which is closely related to the smallpox pathogen that is considered to be eradicated, is rated by the RKI as “low” – also because those infected usually do not become seriously ill and the symptoms usually disappear by themselves after a while.

But because the virus has been spreading unusually quickly outside of Africa since May, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning at the end of July and declared a health emergency.

In some cases, infection is accompanied by a serious illness. Two infected people recently died in Spain.

In one person, inflammation of the brain resulted in death.

According to everything that experts know so far, those affected are mainly infected through close physical contact - according to the official figures, sexual contacts between men should play a significant role.

Almost all of the more than 2700 people who have been infected with monkeypox and have gone to the doctor in this country, so that the reports have reached the RKI, are men.

According to the statistics, up to and including Wednesday, only five of those affected were women, one person stated their gender as "diverse" and the gender of another person was unknown.

Experts point out, however, that basically anyone who has close physical contact with another person can become infected with the virus.

It can be enough to live with an infected person in the same household.

It is obvious that the risk of infection is higher for those who frequently have sex with different partners.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned early on that there should be no stigmatization of gay men.

The Social Democrat summed it up as follows: "It can happen to anyone."

Two vaccinations 28 days apart

To ensure that as few as possible are affected, the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) has been recommending vaccination against monkeypox since the end of June.

The only vaccine approved in Germany against smallpox, Imvanex, is not also approved for monkeypox, but according to experts it still protects against the African pathogen - it is now used outside of the actual approval, experts speak of use "off label". .

On the one hand, the Vaccination Commission advises all adults who have had close contact with an infected person, whether in a private setting or in a doctor's office, to be vaccinated.

On the other hand, those are called upon to be vaccinated whose risk of infection the STIKO considers to be "increased" - these are, firstly, adult men "who have sex with men and often change partners", and secondly, the number of staff in medical laboratories, in working with infectious samples.

Older people who are still vaccinated against smallpox (according to the WHO, smallpox have been eradicated since 1980, mandatory vaccination against the virus ended in 1976 in West Germany and in 1982 in East Germany) only need one vaccination for effective protection against monkeypox.

STIKO advises everyone else to have two vaccinations at least 28 days apart.

According to the RKI data, younger people in particular were infected in Germany, men in their early to mid-30s are most frequently affected.