Belgium has become the first country to make a 21-day compulsory quarantine for monkeypox patients after four cases of the disease were reported last week. The health officials of the country took this decision on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Belgian Institute of Tropical Medicine has said that the risk of a larger outbreak in the country is low as reported by the news agency ANI.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease and some of its symptoms include a distinct bumpy rash, a fever, sore muscles, and a headache. However, Monkeypox is less deadly than smallpox, with a mortality rate below 4 percent. However, experts are worried about the unusual spread of the disease beyond Africa where it usually circulates.
Meanwhile, microbiologist Emmanuel Andre, who is in charge of the National Reference lab for COVID-19 in Belgium took to Twitter on Saturday and said that the fourth case has been confirmed in the country.
“This patient is being treated in Wallonia and is linked to the Antwerp event in which two other people were infected,” he tweeted, referring to a festival in the port city held in May.
On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were a total of 92 confirmed cases in 12 different countries, with 28 suspected cases under investigation. Cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the UK, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, the US, Canada and Australia, as reported by Saudi Gazette.
