A case of monkeypox was also confirmed in Germany for the first time. On Friday, the Bavarian Ministry of Health announced the infection of a 26-year-old young man from Brazil who had traveled from Portugal to Munich via Spain. He has been in the Bavarian capital for about a week, having previously visited Dusseldorf and Frankfurt am Main. It is the first ever case of monkeypox in Germany; According to the Robert Koch Institute, the virus has not been detected in this country before.

The patient has only minor symptoms with slight difficulties in swallowing and a high temperature and does not yet need any special medication. He will stay in the hospital where he is expected to be contagious for three to four weeks.

According to health authorities, the virus usually causes only mild symptoms, but it can also have severe courses. In individual cases, fatal diseases are possible. The virus is primarily transmitted by direct contact or contact with contaminated materials, and it can also be transmitted via droplets in the air over shorter distances – which is likely rare.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach was not surprised by this first discovery: „It was only a matter of time before monkeypox was discovered in Germany.” Doctors and patients in Germany are sensitized by reports from other countries. He said he does not assume that there are a large number of unreported cases in Germany at the moment. „Based on the information available so far, we assume that the virus is not easily transmitted and that this outbreak can be contained,” Lauterbach explained. There are two different types of pathogens – at the moment it can be assumed that the West African variant, which causes less severe cycles, is currently circulating, and not the Congo variant. The virus will be analyzed in more detail for clarity.

Charity infection scientist Leif Sander sees more than 100 cases worldwide suspected or already confirmed, and it’s an extraordinarily dynamic case. „With the long incubation period, I expect another significant increase in cases,” he wrote on Twitter. It should be noted that monkeypox is not so contagious that it can be expected to spread over a wide area like Corona. „It’s very dangerous, but we are ready.”

said Fabian Linderts, founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald and head of the project group, Highly Pathogenic Epidemiology at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Cases can be well narrowed down by contact tracing and there are effective drugs and vaccines that can be used. According to Leendertz, more data is urgently needed in order to be able to understand whether the recorded cases are related or not. It is also important to decode the genome of virus material from samples of infected people in order to check whether the pathogen has changed – eg in the direction of better transmissibility.

Viruses have also been detected in France, Canada, Australia and the USA

Monkeypox infection is now being detected in more and more countries. France also reported its first case on Friday, and the virus has also been detected in the United States, Canada, Australia and thus other regions of the world. The extent to which the pathogen, which originated in Africa, has actually spread internationally is unclear. With so many cases, it is assumed that the virus has been spreading unnoticed for a while, said Dr. Norbert Brückmeer, president of the German Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases. STI stands for sexually transmitted disease.

According to a media report, 30 cases have now been confirmed in Spain. The newspaper reported that there are also 23 suspected cases La Vanguardia On Friday, citing the Ministry of Health. In Portugal, according to the newspaper the public 23 cases have been confirmed. The person infected in Australia had previously returned from the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the number of cases registered there rose from 9 to 20, British Health Minister Sajid Javid announced on Friday. The state bought the smallpox vaccine – at first it was not clear how much and who should be vaccinated with it.

The World Health Organization called for strict follow-up of all contacts of those affected. Clinics and residents should be made aware of the symptoms. Most or even all cases to date involve men, and in many cases they are reported to have had sexual contact with men. According to Brockmeyer, people who have sex with many different people are most likely to develop infections. The German newspaper „Eidshelf” warned of false conclusions and stigmatization in light of the issues faced by gay men. „Of course there is a superficial similarity between monkeypox and HIV at the time – another disease from Africa that affects gay men. But the comparison doesn’t fit in many other ways,” said AIDS spokesman Holger Wiech.

Unlike HIV, the virus that causes monkeypox has been known for much longer in the 1980s, and has also cured the disease on its own. „It is very important for us that panic fears and unreasonable fears do not arise here.” There are still uncertainties when assessing disease severity – for example about how well immune compromised – this could include, for example, people with HIV who have not been treated for many years – coping with the disease. The disease was named monkeypox after the pathogen was first discovered in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. Experts believe that the virus actually spreads in squirrels and rodents, while monkeys and humans are considered bogus hosts.

The first monkeypox patient was described in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To this day, the disease is observed primarily in remote villages in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. Congo was the worst affected, with more than 1,000 patients registered annually. Outside of Africa, monkeypox has only been described in a few countries; These were always imported cases.

Anti-ship missiles to Ukraine?
„Harpoon” missile can solve the blockade of the port

05/19/2022 9:36 PM

The naval blockade in the Black Sea significantly slows down Ukrainian trade. American experts are sure that the Russian fleet can be defeated with special anti-ship missiles. So far, however, there are logistical obstacles.

According to informed sources, the United States wants to send modern anti-ship missiles to Ukraine so that it can break the Russian blockade of its ports on the Black Sea. Two types of missiles are currently being discussed, as Reuters has learned from three US government officials and two congressional employees who did not wish to be identified. These are Boeing’s „Harpoon” with a range of up to 300 km and the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) missiles from Kongsberg and Raytheon Technologies with a length of 250 km.

According to the naval expert at the Hudson Institute, Brian Clark, 12 to 24 such missiles would be enough to threaten Russian warships and persuade the government in Moscow to end the blockade. This affects, for example, Ukrainian grain shipments to the world market. According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia has about 20 warships – including submarines – deployed in the battle zone.

The Russian Navy has already suffered great losses in the Ukraine war, in particular, the sinking of the cruiser „Moskva”, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. According to Clark, larger Russian ships could be in danger if Ukraine acquired advanced weapons. Yet President Vladimir Putin has stuck to the blockade: „They have nowhere to hide in the Black Sea.”

The German armed forces also have „Warriors”

In March, during the NATO summit in Brussels, it became known from American circles that the delivery of anti-ship missiles to Ukraine was being discussed. It was said at the time that they „started working on it”. In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO member Portugal to extradite Harbin. The German army also owns the weapon system.

According to informed sources, now there are a number of countries that would be ready in principle to send such missiles to Ukraine. However, no one wants to be the first to do so for fear of Russian reaction if a warship is sunk by a missile owned by that country. One government official told Reuters there was now a „well-resourced” country that might be ready to deliver first. Then other countries can follow suit.

According to previous information from the United States, there are many obstacles and fears regarding the transfer of stronger and longer-range weapons to Ukraine. These include long training times, difficulties in maintaining systems and concern that the Russian armed forces might control them. It also fears an escalation of the conflict. There are also technical difficulties, because „Harpoon” is not intended for launch from the ground.

It is interesting who Olaf Schulz did not mention in the German Bundestag that day. He thanks Robert Habeck for trying to stay away from Russian oil and gas, as he wants to rapidly expand wind power on land and at sea. He even thanks Friedrich Merz for his constructive work to jointly anchor the 100 billion special funds of the Bundeswehr in the Basic Law.

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In his previous speeches, he also thanked his Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) for her commitment to passing private funds and arms deliveries to Ukraine. Now Scholz doesn’t say a word to her. No thanks nothing. Are these withdrawal movements?

Lambrecht reads the files on the government bench, but this day is presented after the statement of the chancellor’s government, which he made because of the EU special summit on 30/31. May, more unpleasant news for you. Especially with the advent of Frederick Mers: There is now „a minister here who has more to do with self-defense than defense for weeks”, says the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.

Embarrassing details of an uninformed and uninterested minister have been leaked to the media from the German army. He asks the chancellor to give up on Lambrecht. The counselor is going to have to do that anyway, so it’s best if he does it now.

Does Lambrecht still have power?

He said that in three years she would be said to have done a good job. Scholz is known for his loyalty, she was his pick. But can things go well? Does she still have the power in the band to carry out his political turning point? The advisor is – still – undeterred. It is preferable to draw large lines.

„Our cooperation with the economically powerful democracies, the G7, has rarely been as effective and extensive as it has been during the past few days and weeks under our presidency,” he stressed. US President Joe Biden has played a major role in this – especially with regard to NATO, but in the fall, Democrats are threatened with defeat in congressional elections, and Donald Trump is working on his return.

A CDU politician tempts the Freedom and Democracy Party and the Green Party with Jamaica

Therefore, Western unity is not safe, just like the one in the Schulze alliance in Berlin. When he looks into the eyes of his fellow FDP, „I see a deep yearning for Jamaica. And I can understand it,” CDU Representative Christophe de Vries tweeted during the debate.

After the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federation is in the lead and constantly asserts that there is also the sporting possibility of an alliance in the Bundestag. It is notable that the applause of Schulz’s speech by the Greens and the FDP appears almost docile.

Schulz makes stern statements to Putin

Schulz sets his course stoically, but he also has some news in his bags. He talks about many messages and discussions with concerned citizens. But he also wanted to make one thing clear: “Helping a country that has been brutally attacked to defend itself is not an escalation. It is a contribution to repelling the attack – and thus ending the violence as quickly as possible.”

Vladimir Putin still thinks he can bomb a foregone conclusion. But he is wrong, just as he was wrong about the determination of the Ukrainians and the unity of our alliances. There will be no peace for granted. Because the Ukrainians do not accept it, and neither do we.”

Scholz’s welcome received the greatest applause of the Finns and Sweden for their desire to join NATO. The slogan “one for all, all for one” is what makes the transatlantic alliance so attractive. “Dear friends in Sweden and Finland, you are welcome. With you on our side, NATO and Europe will be stronger and safer.”

Solidarity Fund Yes, Ukraine’s rapid accession to the European Union No

Announced the EU Solidarity Fund for Ukraine. „Reconstruction (…) will cost billions.” Meanwhile, making it clear that there can be no quick accession to the European Union, Macron initially has something like a privileged partnership.

Schultz stresses that „the fact that there are no shortcuts on the way to the European Union is also a demand for justice towards the six countries of the Western Balkans.” And almost accidentally, he said something that Chancellor Angela Merkel hadn’t dared do lately: change the EU’s treaties — to herald a turning point for Europe, too.

„Citizens want, for example, more consistency in climate protection, progress in European defense, and a more equitable and inclusive Europe with more social cooperation.” The principle of consensus is also a thorn in his side, so Hungary has blocked the oil embargo until now.

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