Monkeypox – Mpox: Germany confirms first case of new variant

Germany confirmed his first case new clade variant 1b MPOX virus, formerly known as monkeypox. This was confirmed by the Robert Koch Institute, a reference organization for the control of infectious diseases, indicating that the victim was infected abroad.

Thus, we are talking about second case new option 1b in Europethe first of which was discovered last August in Sweden in a man who had recently traveled to an African country where he contracted the disease.

Given these first cases, Europe continues to monitor the situation: unlike the strain that triggered the 2022 warning, which is transmitted mainly through sexual contact, this new variant spreads through daily contactswhich explains why this is also affecting children in African countries where the epidemic occurs.

At the beginning of September last year, director European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Pamela Rendi-Wagner emphasized that risk for the European population compared to mpox is “short“, and asked to keep in mind that we are not facing a “new covid”.

“The Institute does not currently assume an increased risk of infection by clade I viruses in Germany, but We are monitoring the situation very closely and adaptation of its recommendations if necessary,” stated on the institute’s website.

In this regard, it is worth remembering that back in August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a “public health emergency of international concern” due to the growing spreading V Africa belonging mpox, which is mainly transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact, such as during sexual relations or intimate hugs, massages and kisses,