RIVM: at least six Dutch people infected with monkey pox

The RIVM has so far established the monkeypox virus in six people in the Netherlands. That reports the institute on Monday. It was already known on Saturday that two Dutch people had contracted the virus. The RIVM will release the next update on Wednesday.

Some of the infected people have been to the Darkland festival in Antwerp, according to RIVM. In all cases, it concerns men who have sex with men, but according to the institute, that does not mean that the virus spreads (only) through sexual contact, or that the virus cannot spread outside this group. RIVM asks infected persons to go into isolation.

In addition to sex, the virus can be contracted and spread while hugging or by touching an open wound of an infected person. The symptoms of monkey pox are usually mild, according to the RIVM, but infected people become ill on average for two to four weeks. The infection can be accompanied by fever, headache or fatigue.

Blisters

The blisters usually start as spots on the face, one to three days after symptoms start, and then spread to the rest of the body. After two to three weeks, the blisters have dried up and then fall off the skin.

Normally, the virus only occurs in West and Central Africa, but on Friday it was announced that the virus has been detected in several places in Europe, including Germany, France and Belgium. The monkeypox patients in Europe have not recently traveled to West or Central Africa.

Also read this article with eight questions about monkey pox

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