Belgium sends people infected with monkeypox into quarantine
According to media reports, Belgium has decided to quarantine people suffering from monkeypox for up to 21 days. The fourth case has now been confirmed in the country, reports “The Brussels Times”, among others. However, this does not apply to contact persons. The Belgian authorities suspect that even more people could have been infected at a fetish festival in which around 80,000 visitors took part.
In the Netherlands, too, the health authorities are asking all those who are sick or have had contact with sick people to isolate themselves, reports the newspaper AD, citing a statement from the Dutch health authorities. However, the isolation can be lifted by testing. The first case was also confirmed there, but further cases are expected. In addition, the viral disease is now notifiable.
Austria also has a first suspected case. A 35-year-old man was taken to a Viennese clinic during the night with typical symptoms, the public broadcaster ORF reported on Sunday, citing a spokesman for the responsible city health council.
There are also first suspected cases in Switzerland and Israel.
Numerous cases mainly in Great Britain
In Germany, the first case of monkeypox ever known in Germany was confirmed in Munich on Friday. The Bavarian Ministry of Health had announced that a 26-year-old from Brazil who had traveled from Portugal to Munich via Spain was affected. He has been in the Bavarian capital for about a week, before that he was in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt/Main.
On Saturday, Berlin reported two monkeypox infections for the first time. It can be assumed that further infections may be registered in the next few days, the Senate Health Administration announced on Saturday in Berlin.
Monkeypox infections are also steadily increasing in Great Britain. “We are discovering more cases every day,” UKHSA chief medical adviser Susan Hopkins told the BBC on Sunday. According to her, the rare viral disease is now spreading in Great Britain without any connection to West or Central Africa, where it is native.
Great Britain had reported 20 cases by Friday, and Hopkins has now announced a new balance sheet for Monday with the numbers from the weekend. In most infected adults, the symptoms are “relatively mild”. She initially did not want to confirm reports that an affected person had to be treated in the intensive care unit.
Infections had also previously been reported from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Canada and the USA. US President Joe Biden said the outbreak was no cause for concern: “We’re working hard to figure out what we can do.”
What is unusual about this outbreak
So far, the virus has mainly emerged in Africa, making the current outbreaks unusual. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, and a rash that often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body. The disease is usually mild, and most people recover within a few weeks.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Saturday, there were 92 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 28 suspected cases from a total of twelve countries where it does not usually spread. The WHO is currently developing guidelines to contain the spread. There are fears that the number of cases could continue to rise in the summer months, said the chief WHO adviser on infection risks, David Heymann, in an interview with the Reuters news agency. However, the outbreak of monkeypox is not comparable to the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic because the disease is not so easily transmitted. The WHO assumes that the outbreak was triggered by sexual contact.
According to the current state of research, close physical contact is required for transmission. Hopkins confirmed information from the WHO that so far it has mainly been homosexual or bisexual men who have been infected. In Spain, for example, a sauna in Madrid was closed as a possible place for infection. She urged caution.
There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. However, the normal smallpox vaccination is 85 percent preventive. According to Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi, the British government has already started buying up stocks of smallpox vaccine. “We take this very, very seriously,” he told the BBC.
