Belgium reports first case of new mpox variant

Belgium has confirmed its first case of the new, more contagious variant of the mpox virus, according to recent reports from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Belgium’s national health institute, Sciensano.

The patient contracted the virus after sexual contact with an individual in Africa who exhibited symptoms. The infected person immediately self-isolated before receiving the diagnosis. “Due to the measures taken by Belgium, the risk to the general population remains low”, stated the ECDC.

According to Sciensano, the patient is from Wallonia and was diagnosed following a specialised PCR test. The health institute emphasised that the individual had no high-risk contacts and went into isolation upon returning to Belgium.

The new variant, known as Clade I-mpox, was first identified in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya and has since been detected in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and several Asian countries. Belgium is now the eighth non-African country to report a case.

Two strains

Mpox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, as well as through close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and a skin rash. The disease was previously known as monkeypox, named after its identification in laboratory monkeys in Denmark in 1958. However, in regions where the virus is endemic, such as Africa, rodents are considered the primary carriers.

Two main strains of the virus are known to exist. The milder one affected more than 100 countries in 2022. The more deadly one (clade I-mpox) was recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global health emergency. 

^{An mpox patient is injected with an intravenous treatment at the Kavumu hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo © Glody MURHABAZI / AFP}