THE HAGUE, Aug. 19 -- The Dutch public health authority, RIVM, said on Monday that healthcare providers are on high alert for potential infections from a new variant of the mpox virus.

"If a case is detected, the Municipal Health Service will conduct source and contact tracing and provide guidance to prevent further transmission," the RIVM said. "Vaccination is available for close contacts. The Netherlands has sufficient vaccines in stock."

RIVM virologist Chantal Reusken told local media that it is probably only a matter of time before a new variant of mpox appears in the Netherlands. But the risk is low and the disease is manageable due to the country's robust healthcare system, said Reusken.

Mpox, caused by an orthopoxvirus, was prevalent in West and Central Africa. However, in the spring of 2022, cases began emerging in Europe without direct links to those regions. Following a peak in summer 2022, the number of cases sharply declined by autumn. There were a total of 1,316 confirmed cases to date in the Netherlands.

In 2024, a more deadly variant, Clade 1b, emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, activating its highest level of global alert for mpox for the second time in two years.

On Aug. 15, Sweden reported the first case of the new variant outside Africa.

  - Xinhua