Monkeypox cases diagnosed in the Netherlands doubles in a week to 54

The monkeypox virus has been diagnosed in 54 people in the Netherlands, an increase of 14 since Thursday. To date, all of those people diagnosed with the viral infection in the Netherlands are men who engage sexually with other men, the RIVM said on Tuesday. Last Monday, the tally was at 26 cases, which indicates the number of confirmed infections has more than doubled in a week.

Some of the infections can be traced back to an outbreak at the Belgian festival, Darklands, a fetish event. Health authorities emphasized that anyone can get monkeypox after close contact with someone who is infected, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

The virus originates in Africa. For a few weeks now, it has been spreading in mainly European countries. On Friday, May 20, it was reported for the first time that someone in the Netherlands had contracted the disease.

People can contract the virus through close contact with someone who contagious with it. In addition to characteristic bumps on the skin, patients may experience fever, headache, back pain and swollen lymph nodes. The course of the disease is usually quite mild, but can cause complications. Occasionally, the condition can be fatal.

People born before 1974 and who grew up in the Netherlands may have received a vaccination against smallpox, which was still circulating in the world at the time. That vaccine can also provide protection against monkeypox, according to experts.

Anyone who tests positive for the disease must remain in isolation, meaning the person is not allowed to have contact with others until the symptoms have passed. Close contacts, such as family members and sex partners, are to be quarantined as a precaution.

They can also receive a smallpox vaccination from the GGD to reduce the chance of getting sick themselves.