A nurse performs a PCR test to detect monkeypox virus.
© dpa
The number of registered monkeypox cases in Berlin has continued to rise.
As of Monday, 317 laboratory-confirmed infections were known in the capital, 23 patients were in hospital, as the Senate Department for Science, Health, Care and Equality reported in an online overview. Before the weekend on Friday, there had been 259 confirmed cases.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 469 cases of monkeypox nationwide on Tuesday. Fourteen federal states reported cases of the actually rare viral disease, with a particularly high number in Berlin. "Since the infection probably occurs through mucosal contact, close physical/sexual contact with changing or unfamiliar persons should also be avoided if possible as a precaution," advises the Berlin health administration. Safer sex rules such as the use of condoms should be observed, it said.
Monkeypox is considered a less severe disease than 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 limited. The risk for the general population is still considered to be low. The symptoms - including fever and skin rash - usually disappear on their own within a few weeks, but can lead to medical complications and, in very rare cases, death in some people.
The Standing Commission on Vaccination (Stiko) recommends vaccination for certain risk groups and people who have had close contact with infected persons. The committee sees an increased risk of infection in men who have same-sex sexual contacts with changing partners. Under certain circumstances, precautionary vaccination could also be considered for staff of special laboratories. Berlin's health senator Ulrike Gote (Greens) recently emphasised that risk groups in the capital should be able to be vaccinated as quickly as possible. Legal and organisational questions are currently being clarified.