the essentials A case of the clade 1b variant of mpox, previously called monkeypox, was detected in Germany on October 18. Health authorities say they are observing the situation “very closely” even if the risk to the German population is considered “low”.
While a major epidemic rages in Africa, a first case of infection with the new variant of the mpox virus was confirmed in Germany on Tuesday October 22.
“On October 18, 2024, an mpox infection by the new clade 1b, contracted abroad, was detected in Germany,” reported the Robert Koch Health Monitoring Institute (RKI) adding that “the risk for health of the population in Germany” was “poor”.
No details on the patient infected with this variant or the circumstances of his contamination have yet been revealed. The RKI nevertheless declared that it was monitoring the situation “very closely” and specified that it would adapt its recommendations if necessary. The institute also recalled that the transmission of mpox requires “close physical contact”.
42,000 cases in Africa since January
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but is also transmitted between humans, causing fever, muscle pain and skin lesions. For several months, a new epidemic has affected Africa, with the highest infection figures found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Nigeria. Two concurrent epidemics are occurring, one caused by clade 1 in Central Africa, mainly affecting children, and another by the new variant, clade 1b, which affects adults in another region, in the east of the DRC. , and in neighboring countries.
A total of 42,000 cases have been recorded in Africa since January and some 1,100 people have died from mpox, the African Union health agency said last week, which warned that the epidemic was on the verge of becoming “out of control” if no action is taken. Elsewhere in Europe, cases have been reported in Sweden, and others have also been recorded in several Asian countries. A vaccination campaign was launched at the beginning of October in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this Central African country, by far the most affected in the world by the virus.
