As many may have noticed from international news agencies, many different countries are reporting rising cases of an infectious disease similar to chickenpox/smallpox. In The Netherlands, the disease is called ‘Apenpokken’ or in English, ‘Monkeypox’. Various countries have reported a rise in cases the past week.
As the first cases in The Netherlands have been confirmed, the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid (Kingdom’s institute of public safety) has advised the Aruban Minister in charge of public health to declare the Monkeypox disease as infectious under category-A of the Landsverordening Infectieziekten (AB 2019 no. 27).
There is currently very little scientific information available on the Monkeypox disease; the rate of infection nor its transmission is official. This is why it is very important to isolate the few cases early on to establish the rules for monitoring, development, and quarantine of the infections.
Based on this information, an official Announcement-release will be published confirming the disease as a category-A, infectious disease.
