Coutinho made his statements in a conversation with Nieuwsuur. He worries about the spread of monkey pox and fears an outbreak on Pride. “It’s an extra risk. A lot of people just come there to party, but there are also a lot of sexual contacts.”
He calls on the organization to ‘take a very serious look at how the virus will develop in the coming weeks’. “We don’t want the spread and these kinds of events are an extra risk.”
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At the beginning of the outbreak, the monkeypox virus spread rapidly among visitors to Darklands, a fetish festival in Antwerp which is also visited by many LGBT people.
The virus does not only spread among gay men, but most infections are now in that group.
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Coutinho also calls on whether it is possible to vaccinate men who have frequent contact with other men against the virus. This could include, for example, looking at men who use PrEP. This is a drug that prevents an HIV infection.
blisters on the skin
The day before yesterday, the RIVM reported that there are 352 known cases of monkey pox in the Netherlands. Compared to last Thursday, 64 new cases came to light. This increase is considerably stronger than the increase in recent weeks.
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Those who contract monkey pox can suffer from fever, headache, muscle aches and general malaise. After a few days, a rash with blisters appears on the skin. Usually people don’t get very sick from an infection.
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