These cases are linked to a common event that took place in early May or to a trip abroad, to Portugal and Spain. The source of infection for one of the cases has not yet been formally determined. Those infected are between 28 and 43 years old.
The first Belgian cases date back to an international fetish festival, Darklands, which took place in Antwerp at the beginning of May. The virus spreads through close contact between people.
The European office of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday of the possible spread of monkeypox during festivals and other large gatherings coming over the summer. “The risk of a new broadcast in Europe and elsewhere during the summer is high,” according to regional director Hans Henri Kluge.
Research to date indicates that the contagion had already started in Europe in mid-April, according to the WHO. This is the largest and most geographically widespread focus of monkeypox ever reported outside the endemic areas of West and Central Africa.
The organization adds, however, that it is not necessary to impose measures as restrictive as for covid, since the monkeypox virus is not transmitted in the same way as Sars-CoV-2. . “However – and this is important – we don’t yet know if we can effectively contain its spread. It is therefore necessary to reduce infections, for example by communicating clearly, by isolating infected people and by effectively looking for contact cases”, explains Mr. Kluge.