Monkey pox: what is the situation in Belgium?
While Belgium has 4 proven cases, the Minister of Health believes that “we are not going to thousands of infected”.
By the editor
QFour people have tested positive for the monkeypox virus in Belgium. “You have to be vigilant,” said Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) on the show Sunday is not everyday. “That’s why we brought together our experts on Friday. On a given clear instructions to doctors and hospitals. If there are people who have symptoms, you obviously have to go to the emergency room immediately because the emergency services have the tools to carry out the tests”.
The Minister of Health gave an update on the particularities of this disease. “Monkey pox is contagious, but fortunately much less than Covid. It is transmitted through close physical contact, skin to skin, but also through clothing or linen used by a person who has been contaminated. This is the reason why it is also said that sexual contact can be a cause of transmission. »
“Not an explosion of cases”
“Monkey pox is much less serious and less contagious than ‘traditional’ smallpox,” says Frank Vandenbroucke. “You can suffer from it, but it is not fatal. The ‘advantage and disadvantage of vaccination’ balance does not lead us to say that citizens should be vaccinated at this time. »
Regarding the number of cases, the Minister reassures: “There are 4 confirmed cases and it is certain that there will be more. But we are not going towards thousands of infected people. It would be surprising if there were not more cases, but there will be no explosion”.
The World Health Organization expects more cases to emerge now that countries are being further checked for the presence of the virus. The organization has 92 known cases and 28 other suspects. In addition to Belgium, the various countries where the virus has been detected are the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Canada, the States USA and Australia. But Israel and Switzerland have also reported cases. According to the WHO, a relatively large number of patients are men who have sex with men.