Two cases of Mpox diagnosed at Eindhoven institute for people with disabilities
The Mpox virus has surfaced at the Lunet institution for people with disabilities in Eindhoven. Two people at a residential location on Eckartdal have been diagnosed with Mpox, Lunet announced on Thursday. According to Eindhovens Dagblad, it involves an employee and a resident.
Mpox is a viral infection caused by the Mpox virus. Various variants of Mpox exist, including a new one currently on the rise in West and Central Africa. It is not yet known which variant was found at Lunet. The disease typically has a mild course.
The GGD Brabant Zuid oost currently estimates the risk of further spread as low. The health service is monitoring the situation closely.
“As a precaution, protective equipment is being used at the location. We are doing this to prevent further spread,” Lunet said. “As far as the location in question is concerned, contact with other locations is being avoided until the test results are known.”
According to ED, it became clear on Tuesday that a Lunet employee contracted the virus while on holiday. A resident was diagnosed later.
Mpox is spread through intensive skin-to-skin contact. Up until now, in the Netherlands, the virus mainly spread among men who have sex with men. But it can also spread easily during the daily care and nursing of people who need a lot of care, as is the case with many of the people living at Lunet’s Eckardal location.
The Netherlands had an Mpox outbreak in 2022 and has had a few sporadic cases of the virus so far this year. But the new variant rapidly spreading in West and Central Africa has health authorities worldwide on alert for the virus. This variant also appeared in Sweden in August.
Parliament recently pressured Health Minister Fleur Agema to donate 13,200 Mpox vaccines to affected countries in Africa. The PVV Minister wanted to keep the vaccines, which have a limited shelf life, in reserve in case the Netherlands needs them. But a majority in parliament found it important to show solidarity with the affected countries and to prevent the outbreak from spreading to the Nehterlands by combating it at its source.
