Monkeypox in Switzerland – “We must not panic in the wrong way” – News

Cases of monkeypox are increasing across Europe. One person is now ill in the canton of Bern. Gundekar Giebel from the local health department explains how the case was discovered and how to deal with it.


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Gundekar Giebel has been responsible for communications for the Bern health director Pierre-Alain Schnegg (SVP) since 2017. Before that, he was Head of Electronic Media at Swiss Post.

SRF News: How did the health department discover the first case in Switzerland?

Gundekar Giebel: We didn’t discover the case ourselves, but the person came to the hospital to be examined with some symptoms of illness.

And when was that exactly?

We had our suspicions for the first time on Friday and then had the examination done in a first laboratory. On Saturday afternoon, the specialized laboratory at the University Hospital in Geneva confirmed that it was actually monkeypox.

Are you surprised by this first case?

It was to be assumed that Switzerland would not be spared. The fact that the first case is now appearing in the canton of Bern is purely coincidental.

And it is necessary to know that this is a disease that affects almost no one. We currently have about 40 cases worldwide.

And are you concerned?

No, smallpox is nothing to worry about. Humans can be infected, but it’s really very rare. And it is necessary to know that this is a disease that affects almost no one. We currently have about 40 cases worldwide.

When was monkeypox last seen in Europe?

I can’t say. In this context, the disease is actually not widespread in Europe. It’s a well-known disease in some African countries – it keeps recurring there. But the fact that it is currently having this unusually broad effect across some countries is very rare and has never happened to this extent.

What happens to the person concerned now?

The person had to be isolated on Friday and must remain there until all symptoms have subsided. And that can take up to three weeks until the last blisters have burst and there are no more symptoms and visible signs of illness on the body.

How long is the person contagious?

You are already contagious a few days before the symptoms appear, then there comes a phase that has some symptoms that are similar to flu. You may have severe back and joint pain. And after about five to seven days, the first smallpox blisters appear. The liquid in it is then highly contagious. The utmost caution is required and that is why the person concerned should also be isolated.

It seems important to me that we do not create panic in this case.

The disease apparently mainly affects men, is the first Swiss case also a man?

We don’t want to and can’t announce that at the moment. And whether this thesis is true has not yet been confirmed.

How should the authorities react now?

It seems important to me that we do not create panic in this case. We have already put a lot of information online. The BAG did that too. Monkeypox is very rare. It is important that we inform very well and that we learn to deal with this disease, which is occurring for the first time. And that we don’t fall into a false panic.

The interview was conducted by Stephan Rathgeb.

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