So far, the only cases documented in Belgium are young men having sex with other men. They are between 28 and 46 years old. The very first cases date back to the international fetish festival, Darklands, which took place in Antwerp earlier this month.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that the virus is not limited to gay men. The virus is spread through close human contact, but so far no sick person has had to be hospitalized.
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, which claimed millions of lives worldwide over several years before being eradicated in 1980.
However, the monkeypox variant is less serious and most infected people recover within three to four weeks. The first symptoms are a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash similar to chickenpox.