In Brandenburg there is the second confirmed monkeypox case. The virus was detected in a 35-year-old man from the district of Teltow-Fläming, and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) confirmed the suspicion on Saturday, the Brandenburg Ministry of Health announced in Potsdam this evening.

The infected person is in isolation. On May 28, the suspicion of monkeypox had been confirmed in a 40-year-old man from Potsdam. This was the first confirmed case in the country.

Monkeypox is considered a less severe 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. Symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few weeks, but in some people can lead to medical complications and, in very rare cases, death.

People who may have had contact with infected people are advised to pay close attention to symptoms and reduce contact as a precaution.

Since early May, the virus has been spreading from person to person in Europe for the first time without an epidemiological link to West or Central Africa.Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and back pain, and swollen lymph nodes. Extensive skin rash is possible.

Image by Alexandra Koch