The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Belgium's national health institute Ciensano announced on Tuesday that Belgium had recorded its first case of a new, more contagious monkeypox virus.
Belgium is therefore the fourth country in Europe and the eighth country outside Africa to have recorded cases of this variant. Clade type I monkeypox is more dangerous and has a higher mortality rate.
Belgium. First case of new monkeypox virus
According to ECDC and Ciensano reports, the patient in Wallonia contracted the virus during sexual contact with a sick person showing symptoms in one of the African countries. After returning to Japan, he was diagnosed with a PCR test and isolated. It is known that he had no close contact with anyone after his return and, as assured by the health authorities, the risk of spreading the virus in Belgium is very low.
Reference: Monkeypox is a 'global threat'. WHO issues highest alert
A new variant of monkeypox, clade I, was recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, cases of the disease have been confirmed in three European countries: Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and outside the Old Continent, the United States and several countries in Asia have also confirmed cases.
Monkeypox. WHO declared a state of emergency
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the MPXV virus. It occurs primarily in the tropical forests of central and western Africa, but cases have also been identified in Asia.
Symptoms include high fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle pain, headache, ulcers on the body, and rash. Cases of monkeypox have so far been reported in 19 African countries. The virus is present in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Cameroon, Liberia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, etc.
See also: Mutant viruses in sewage. GIS urgent appeal to parents
In August, the WHO declared a global health emergency following an increase in cases of a new strain of monkeypox.
There are two known strains of the virus. The milder clade II MPXV has been reported in more than 100 countries, and the more deadly clade I has already been mentioned. In August, the WHO declared monkeypox a global health threat.
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