Germany has recorded its first case of monkeypox in a child, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Tuesday.
The infected 4-year-old girl lives in a household with two infected adults, according to the RKI report. The first monkeypox infections in 15- and 17-year-old teenagers were recorded last week.
These cases are linked to an epidemic that occurred in May this year, which affected many countries in the world, especially in Europe. Around two and a half months after the first case of monkeypox was detected in Germany, a total of 2,982 cases were reported to the RKI.
In this outbreak, “current data suggests that transmission occurs primarily in the context of sexual activity, currently, particularly among men who have sexual contact with other men,” the RKI said. “As far as we know, most of those affected do not become seriously ill.”
The health risk to the general population in Germany was considered low, according to the RKI. However, the institute continued to “monitor the situation very closely and adapt its assessment to the current state of knowledge.”
“To prevent the spread of monkeypox virus and contain the outbreak, it is important at the start of the vaccination campaign to distribute the available quantities of vaccine with the greatest possible benefit,” the Standing Committee on vaccination (STIKO) of the country.
The doses available were not sufficient, according to the STIKO. Only some 40,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine were currently in stock. The German government has ordered 200,000 additional doses which will be delivered during the third quarter.