BRUSSELS, May 20 --Three cases of the viral disease monkeypox have been detected in Belgium, and two of them have already been confirmed, Isabel Brosius, doctor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, confirmed to Belgian broadcaster VRT on Friday.

The first confirmed case was detected on Thursday and the second was confirmed on Friday by virologist Marc Van Ranst on Twitter on Friday.

The third case, a man, is relatively healthy but was found to have bullous lesions on his hands, Van Ranst said.

People infected with this virus are required to quarantine for 21 days, the Flemish Health Agency said on Friday after Belgian authorities met with the Risk Assessment Group (RAG).

The Institute of Tropical Medicine said that, based on current data, the risk of the virus spreading to the general population appears to be low.

The very rare virus was first identified in the United Kingdom in 2018. It is usually found in remote parts of central and western Africa, near tropical rainforests.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue.

There is no treatment for monkeypox, which is spread by contact with an infected person or their body fluids, including saliva, the online newspaper 7sur7 reported.

  - Xinhua