Monkey pox: three cases in Belgium linked to a fetish fashion festival
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“There are elements that suggest that the virus was brought to the Darklands festival by visitors from abroad,” said the organizers of the event.
Three cases of monkeypox have been identified in Belgium, all linked to a fetish fashion festival held recently in Antwerp (North), organizers warned on Friday, calling for vigilance from all those who provoked it.
Watch for any blisters or lesions
On his site, the darklands festival indicated that the three cases confirmed Friday by the health authorities were “linked to visitors” of the 2022 edition, which took place from May 5 to 8 in the port city. “There are elements which lead to believe that the virus was brought to the festival by visitors from abroad, where cases have been designated”, underlined the organizers without further details.
Darklands presents itself on its site as a festival offering an “extraordinary” choice of fetish clothing and accessories, also programming evenings for the gay community. The alert was triggered by a group of federal government experts responsible for assessing the risk of epidemics, which advised the organizers to warn its visitors. No figures were specified. In particular, they are advised to watch for any blisters or unusual skin lesions that may appear on their body, and to go to the hospital as soon as possible in order, if necessary, to respect quarantine.
“Monkey pox has an incubation period of 5 to 21 days. Be vigilant during the three weeks following your last close contact, ”adds the festival website.
“Low risk” for the population
Originally from Africa, monkeypox is normally transmitted to humans in forested areas of this continent by wild rodents or primates. But human-to-human transmission is also possible, through direct contact with skin lesions or mucous membranes of a sick person, as well as through droplets.
Nowadays, “at least eight (European) countries – Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden – have reported cases of monkeypox”, summarized Friday in a press release Hans Kluge, responsible for the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the Belgian Ministry of Health, this rare viral disease, with generally mild symptoms, presents “a low risk for the general population”. “Men who have sex with other men, or people who have multiple sex partners, should be especially vigilant,” the ministry warned in a statement.
Cases of monkeypox could accelerate in Europe, a regional official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, while at least eight European countries were designated as sick, including 20 in the United Kingdom.
“As we enter the summer season (…) with gatherings, festivals and parties, I fear that the transmission is accelerating,” said WHO director for Europe Hans Kluge. The extent of transmission is “atypical,” revealed Hans Kluge, defined as “all but one recent case had not traveled to areas where monkeypox is endemic.”
Most of the cases were designated among men who have sex with men, also indicated Hans Kluge, the WHO having already wanted to indicate to shed light on the transmission of the virus within the homosexual community.
(AFP)