A minor has been infected with the monkeypox virus for the first time in Belgium, De Standaard reported on Wednesday evening, based on information from the Sciensano public health institute.
The 16-year-old boy was not hospitalised, according to the daily.
Until now, all confirmed cases of monkeypox in Belgium – 482 – had been adults between the ages of 20 and 71. Thus far, 28 of them (7%) have been hospitalised.
Sciensano warns that a monkeypox infection can also have an atypical clinical profile. Typically, an infected person will first experience mild symptoms, such as fever, headache, or muscle aches. Then a skin rash will appear one to three days later.
In the current outbreak, the rash appears mainly in the genital area, but the health institute emphasises that atypical cases are also possible.
