These come from previous infections that have now been processed. But there are also relatively many new cases. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) does not know how large the increase would have been without the references. That is ‘difficult to determine’, because there can be a lot of time between the infection and the first symptoms.
Hospital
One patient in the Netherlands has been in hospital to be treated for skin complaints associated with the infection. He has recovered and is back home.
As far as RIVM is aware, almost all patients in the Netherlands are men who have sex with men. Health authorities do emphasize that anyone can get monkey pox after close contact with someone who is infected.
Disease course is quite mild
How the monkey pox spreads exactly and which risk groups should therefore be warned is still being investigated. 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.
RTL Nieuws previously made this video explaining the virus: