Mpox (monkey pox)
Mpox (monkeypox) is a viral infection. The virus is not dangerous to most people, but it is contagious and it can be very painful. Mpox spreads most easily through kissing, lovemaking and sex. Anyone can get it but most infections have been found in men who have sex with men.
Since November 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been using the name "mpox" to refer to monkeypox, or monkeypox. The WHO received several complaints after the outbreak that the word monkeypox is stigmatizing and discriminatory. GGD Flevoland has adopted the new name and from now on also refers to it as 'mpox'.
This is how to recognize mpox
- fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue (5-21 days after you got the virus)
- rash that can spread over your body and face. The rash starts with spots that turn into blisters that eventually dry up.
When do you call your doctor or the Public Health Service?
- If you have symptoms after being somewhere where someone had the virus. Pay close attention the following weeks to see if you develop symptoms.
- If you had (sexual) contact with someone with mpox in the past 3 weeks.
- If you have blisters on your body, especially if the blisters started on the face or pubic area.
Note: always contact your doctor or the GGD by phone first and do not visit without an appointment.
It is no longer possible to make an appointment for Mpox vaccination
In the summer of 2022, GGD Flevoland started vaccinating against Mpox to break the rapidly increasing outbreak. People at high risk of being infected were invited to be vaccinated. The monkeypox outbreak was virtually over by October 2022. The vaccination campaign was therefore stopped. You can find more information about vaccination against Mpox on the RIVM website.