Monkeypox continues to spread in Germany, especially in Berlin. According to the Robert Koch Institute, all affected patients are men.
Around three weeks after monkeypox was first detected in Germany, the number of infections recorded by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) rose to 113. “All the cases in Germany reported to the RKI are men,” said a spokeswoman for the institute on request. The day before, the RKI was aware of 80 cases nationwide.
Berlin recorded the most infections
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 had warned of the virus spreading, for example at upcoming festivals and parties.
Outbreak since mid-April
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.
