Biostatistician Geert Molenberghs has confirmed the death to our editors. “A person has died in our country with monkey pox. That is an important nuance,” says Molenberghs. “But much more information cannot be given about this because of the medical secrecy.”
Recent figures from August 23 indicate that 671 cases of monkeypox virus have been identified in Belgium, of which 236 in Brussels, 360 in Flanders and 75 in Wallonia.
More than 50,000 cases have been registered worldwide since the onset of the monkeypox epidemic. According to the WHO dashboard that tracks all confirmed cases, there were 50,496 cases and 16 deaths as of August 31. The number of infections appears to be decreasing in both the United States and Europe.
“There is encouraging early evidence, as proven in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the UK and other countries, that the outbreak appears to be slowing,” said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, yesterday/Tuesday. “To move towards elimination in our region, we urgently need to increase our efforts.”