The virus is spreading more and more, which worries the Belgian authorities. As a precaution, anyone who is infected with the disease also known as monkeypox will have to be isolated.

Monkeypox has already reached 14 countries and Belgium is the first to enact a 21-day quarantine for people who test positive for the new virus, the “Daily Mail” advances. The decision is due to the presence of monkeypox in 14 countries and the exponential increase in cases in the United Kingdom. In total, there are already 92 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the Reuters agency, quoted by CNN Portugal.

Anyone who tests positive for monkeypox in Belgium, where there are only three confirmed cases, will have to self-isolate for about three weeks — even longer than the period of isolation when COVID-19 emerged. in 2020.

The virus can be transmitted through contact with an infected person or animal or through contaminated materials, and enters the body through damaged parts of the skin, respiratory droplets, or body fluids, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Infection with monkeypox causes symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash. The virus can incubate between six to 16 days, but it can reach 21 days, hence the prolonged isolation defined by Belgium.

As of Saturday, there were 92 confirmed cases and another 28 suspected cases of monkeypox, according to the UN. In Portugal there are 14 confirmed cases and others are added in Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Holland, France, Israel, Switzerland and Australia.

Source: With Agencies