BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2022) Belgium currently requires monkeypox-infected individuals to be quarantined for 21 days, media report.
Since the monkeypox virus has a rather long incubation period, infected people need to be isolated for three weeks, La Libre daily said on Sunday citing Belgian authorities.
Nonetheless, those who have been in contact with the infected person are not required to self-isolate and only need to watch their health condition closely, the newspaper specified.
Belgium currently has four confirmed cases of monkeypox - all of the infected people had attended the same event.
According to the World Health Organization's (WHO), there are currently over 90 confirmed monkeypox cases reported across 11 non-endemic countries. Around 28 suspected cases are pending investigations. No monkeypox-related deaths have been reported so far.
Several countries in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) have confirmed cases of monkeypox, according to the WHO. Cases have also been reported in Australia, Canada and the United States.
According to the WHO, most people usually recover from monkeypox within a few weeks without treatment. The symptoms are initially flu-like, such as fever, chills, and swollen lymph nodes, which are then followed by a widespread rash.
The monkeypox virus is not easily transmitted and usually spreads through close physical contact, including sexual contact, with an infected individual. Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease (spread between animals and people). It originates in animals like rodents and primates and occurs in remote parts of Central and West Africa.
