In Sweden, On Thursday the first Mpox case outside Africa was reportedAlready on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned of several Mpox outbreaks in Africa the highest alert level worldwide declared.
On Friday, the European Health Authority also raised the risk level for the viral infection Mpox from low to moderate. It is assumed that cases of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, will increase in Europe. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said that despite the case in Sweden, Mpox does not currently pose a great danger in Germany.
“No reason for excessive concern”
Virologist Dr. Jürgen Rissland from the Homburg University Hospital has a similar view: “If you want to assess the overall risk situation, the risk of spread in the general population is very low. And so for now, there is no reason to be overly concerned.”
In addition, Mpox infections are generally much milder than those seen with classic human smallpox viruses in the past. Nevertheless, the situation, especially in Central Africa, must be monitored very closely and, above all, further research must be carried out into what the new variant of the virus is all about.
Keep an eye on the new variant
The development of the new variant Mpox Clade I b, which was discovered at the end of 2023, is indeed worrying: “If you look at the situation in Central Africa, especially in the actual home country of this clade – the Democratic Republic of Congo – then we already have more than 16,000 cases there in the first half of this year, including almost 500 deaths,” explains the virologist.
This was one of the reasons why the WHO sent out the alarm signal, says Rissland. “Also to force investigations to find out: What is this new virus variant like? What other characteristics does it have?” Further investigations into the virus are therefore important in order to be prepared should individual cases also come to Germany and outbreaks perhaps occur here too.
No comparison with the Corona pandemic
However, the Mpox virus infection cannot be compared to the corona pandemic. This is mainly due to the type of infection: “The mode of transmission of this virus is completely different to that of corona viruses. Corona viruses are respiratory pathogens.” This means that they are transmitted via droplet infection, for example when we cough or breathe on each other.
Things are different with the Mpox viruses. “You actually need very close, direct contact with the infected person. And that means that the ability to transmit and thus also the ability to become infected is very manageable.”
Old smallpox vaccination provides residual immunity
There is good news for people who have already been vaccinated against smallpox: “Based on everything we know about Mpox viruses so far, all of us who have been vaccinated against the classic smallpox viruses in the past have what is known as residual immunity. This means that they are also protected to a certain extent against these Mpox viruses,” says Rissland.
In parallel, there are now approved smallpox vaccines that can be administered on two occasions. “Once, if contact has taken place, you can use them retrospectively. And then there is a vaccine that can be used as a so-called indication vaccination for particularly affected or at-risk groups of people,” said the virologist.
Further investigations necessary
However, it must be made clear again that this is not a vaccination recommendation for the general population. “That’s why we have to wait a little longer to see what the investigations in Congo reveal in order to then really be able to say which specific groups of people should also receive this vaccination recommendation.”
The SR 2 KulturRadio program “Der Morgen” also reported on this topic on August 16, 2024.
