Health
The number of confirmed smallpox cases in Austria has nearly doubled from the previous week, albeit at a still low level. Well over half of the cases so far have taken place in Vienna.
01.07.2022 10.29
Online since today, 10:29 am
The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that 37 infections have already been confirmed, against 20 the previous week, with “intense and continuous exchanges with international authorities”, the Ministry of Health said.
“First doses of vaccine “in the coming weeks”
As far as the acquisition of vaccines is concerned, we are “on the right common European path”. The Ministry of Health hopes that the first doses of the vaccine “may arrive in Austria in the coming weeks”. However, “by no means” will there be a general population vaccination, but it must be available for individual groups of people. The National Vaccination Panel advises who is vaccinated and when.
21 monkeypox infections in Vienna
Well over half of the cases so far have taken place in Vienna. City health officials have so far recorded 21 smallpox infections, of which, according to Mario Dujakovic, spokesman for health councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ), 16 are currently active. Five patients have already recovered. Four cases are currently being treated at Klinik Favoriten, the Viennese clinic specializing in infectious diseases.
The 16 active cases are all men between the ages of 25 and 55. In very mild cases, symptoms range from a few isolated pustules to more generalized rashes. None of those affected were vaccinated against smallpox, as far as Vienna city authorities could find out. However, hospital admissions should be seen as a “pure precautionary measure”. “The course of the disease itself does not make hospitalization absolutely necessary,” Dujakovic said.
Call 1450 if you suspect
The City of Vienna has again recommended that people who are in close physical contact with people infected with monkeypox or suspected of having smallpox due to symptoms – especially skin lesions and pustules – call 1450. There they should discuss next steps at a medical appointment.