A Walloon patient has been diagnosed with the new, more contagious variant of the mpox virus. The data come from the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Belgian health institute Sciensano. The ECDC speaks of ‘infections in Germany and Belgium’.
The patient in question reportedly had sexual contact with a person in Africa who showed symptoms of the virus.
The patient was first isolated. A positive diagnosis was then confirmed. The ECDC provides reassurement: ‘Given the measures taken by Belgium, the risk to the general population remains low’. Although this case involves the new, more contagious variant 1b, there is absolutely no reason to panic or cause great concern.
The new variant hit the headlines in August when the World Health Organisation declared a state of emergency.
Mpox is mainly found in Africa, but cases of the new variant were previously also reported in Sweden, Germany, Canada, India, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. On every occasion, people came down with the infection after a trip leading scientists to speak of imported cases.
Panic is not helpful, but those returning from high-risk areas should be vigilant with regard to symptoms.
The Belgian case involves a patient from Wallonia who was diagnosed with the mpox variant after a specific PCR test. The health institute Sciensano underlines that the person in question did not have high-risk contacts in Belgium and self-isolated on his return to Belgium.
The new variant was recently found for a first time in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya. Earlier, it also surfaced in Germany, Sweden, the UK, the US and several Asian countries. Belgium is the eighth non-African country where infection is detected.
Fever, muscle pains and a rash
Mpox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans but is also spread through close physical contacts. The disease causes fever, muscle pains and skin rash.
Because the disease was first identified in Danish laboratory monkeys in 1958, it was until recently called monkeypox. However, in areas where the virus circulates naturally, like in Africa, rodents are the main carriers.