Mpox in the United States – the number of cases increases in the spring

Monkey pox has now faded from the minds of many homosexuals – but the US is now recording a rapid increase in new infections within a short period of time. Again, this almost exclusively affects gay and bisexual men.

Twice as many new infections

The number has risen sharply in a short period of time and there are now twice as many cases as there were a year ago. As reported by the US disease agency CDC, around 500 new cases have already been registered as of mid-March this year, and the trend is increasing. Notable: All regions in the US are reporting high cases, but the current earthquake appears to be once again a gay bastion: New York City. So the CDC cautioned against overly reckless behavior.

The situation in Germany was similar in 2022 and 2023; 50 percent of the sick were reported from the rainbow capital, Berlin. So far, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has registered 3,800 cases in the Federal Republic. There is currently no similar increase in the US, although new infections can occur at any time.

New outbreaks are also possible in Germany

“The RKI continues to expect cases to occur in Germany. A limited outbreak is certainly possible again, but a sharp increase in the number of cases such as in 2022 is currently not expected. Since there is a highly effective vaccine, unvaccinated people at risk of infection should be vaccinated. Those without complete vaccination coverage should complete their vaccination coverage. To date, more than 90,000 cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the outbreak, including 170 deaths.

Concerned about new cases

At that time, tens of thousands of cases were registered in the US, but fortunately, despite the increasing number of cases, the US has not yet been affected. Nevertheless, the CDC views the current development with concern, as the virus may have spread across the United States and Europe in a matter of days by 2022.

Particular attention and caution is needed because the CDC had already reported in December of last year about a new type of monkey flu that spreads more easily and causes significantly more serious illnesses. This Mpox variant is currently circulating primarily in the Congo.

Call for a new vaccination campaign

The CDC says that because prevention campaigns have largely stopped and the number of vaccinations in the gay community has also declined, why cases are now on the rise again in the United States. In principle, anyone can become infected with the virus, but since the global outbreak in 2022, it has almost exclusively affected gay and bisexual men, who are often infected through sexual contact. A large portion of this risk group in the United States has not yet been vaccinated against Mpox. CDC supports calls from health services to launch new vaccination campaigns to prevent another major wave of Mpox.