The Hague, Oct. 22 (UNI) The Netherlands has confirmed its first case of a new, more transmissible variant of mpox, Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport Jan Anthonie Bruijn said in a letter to parliament on Tuesday.
The infection, identified on Oct. 17, is the first time the mpox variant 1b has been detected in the country.
“This is the first time that this new mpox-variant has been identified in the Netherlands,” the minister said in the letter. He added that the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are “closely monitoring the situation.”
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported that the infected man was not vaccinated against mpox and had no recent travel history.
The man has been placed in isolation, and the local public health service is conducting source and contact tracing. The minister sought to reassure the public, saying that “the risk of further spread appears to be small.”
Mpox, which can cause painful lesions, fever, and fatigue, spreads primarily through skin-to-skin contact, according to the RIVM.
