The first European country to issue a regulation to isolate people with monkeypox

In addition to self-isolation, Belgian health authorities also ask people suspected of having the disease to go to the hospital’s emergency room to consult medical experts.

People who have been in close contact with a patient with monkeypox do not need to be isolated, but need to be extremely vigilant.

According to epidemiologist Marc Van Ranst, the latest case – discovered on May 22 – has epidemiological characteristics similar to three previous cases, which are all related to the Darklands gay festival, which was held first. May in Antwerp.

“It’s important for all Darklands festivalgoers to be on the lookout for any symptoms,” Mr Ranst said. Meanwhile, the Belgian Institute of Tropical Medicine assessed that the risk of an outbreak in the country was quite low.

In addition to the Darklands, the Gran Canaria festival in the Canary Islands – attended by some 80,000 people from across Europe – is also considered a “super-spreader” of the monkeypox virus. This festival is related to cases in Spain, Italy. Madrid (Spain) is currently a “hot spot” for monkeypox, with more than 30 people diagnosed with the disease.

On May 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency meeting on the risk of spreading monkeypox. On May 21, WHO reported 92 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 12 countries, with 28 suspected cases. Countries that have reported cases of monkeypox include the UK, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, the US, Canada and Australia.

Government officials in many countries such as the UK and US insist the virus poses no danger to the public. But earlier in the 2021 Munich Security Conference, an event was held to simulate a global outbreak of monkeypox that has killed 270 million people.

According to WHO, there is currently no specific vaccine for monkeypox, but data shows that vaccines used to prevent smallpox are up to 85% effective against monkeypox.

Smallpox in monkeys shares similarities with smallpox and chickenpox, a common childhood illness. The illness has flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. The rash then appears on the face and spreads to other parts of the body. Although there is no cure, monkeypox usually causes mild symptoms and the person recovers within a few weeks.

Monkeypox virus is very difficult to spread, mainly through contact with body fluids and sores, contaminated clothing or long-term direct contact leading to infection through respiratory droplets.

There are two strains of monkeypox, one in West Africa and one in Central Africa. The recent outbreak of smallpox is thought to be caused by a milder West African strain.

Smallpox in monkeys is less deadly than smallpox, with a fatality rate of less than 4%, but experts are still worried about the unusual spread of the disease outside of Africa.

According to Minh Hanh