Credit: Ministry of Health (sante.lu)
On Wednesday 17 August 2022, Luxembourg's Ministry of Health confirmed a case of monkeypox virus infection in a child; the child is in a stable and non-critical condition and is currently in isolation.
According to the ministry, a health inspector made a visit to the day centre attended by the child in the early afternoon. Contact tracing has been carried out and the persons concerned have been informed. The day centre in question remains operational, with no other child showing symptoms at this stage. Children and adults who have had potential contact with the infected child are not at risk of developing serious forms of the disease. Nevertheless, the Health Inspectorate will remain in daily contact with the parents and the staff of the centre in order to detect any onset of symptoms.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus that has been circulating in Europe for several months. On 23 July 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
Although the virus has so far spread mainly within certain communities, the infection can affect anyone.
The disease can cause the following symptoms:
• Pimples on the body (on the face, in the mouth, the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, around the anus, on the bust or limbs)
• A fever
• Swollen and painful lymph nodes, under the jaw, in the neck or in the fold of the groin
• Sore throats
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Fatigue
The strategy to reduce human-to-human transmission of monkeypox is based on the following measures:
• Early detection of possible cases, with contact tracing;
• Early identification of cases of suspected infection by specialised assessment and diagnostic confirmation by PCR;
• Isolation of infected patients;
• Implementation of infection prevention and control measures in the healthcare sector;
• Vaccination of people at risk.
