The three cases were all linked to the same festival, which means that other visitors should be aware, warned the organisers of the event on Friday.

The 'Darklands' festival took place in Anvers from 5 to 8 May. On its website, Darklands advertises an "extraordinary" selection of fetish clothes and apparel. The event also includes live shows and a night dedicated for the queer community.

On Friday, health authorities confirmed that three cases of monkeypox occurred in relation to the 2022 edition of the fetish fashion festival.

"It is believed that visitors of the festival contracted the virus abroad, where cases have already been reported, before coming to the event", underlined organisers without providing further clarification.

The initial alert came from an expert group of the federal government, which has been charged with evaluating the epidemiological risk. They advised the festival organisers to alert their visitors.

People should thus monitor potential monkeypox symptoms, such as a rash, fever, headache, muscle pain, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. The festival website further informs people that the virus has an incubation period of five to 21 days.

Read also: Luxembourg spared from monkeypox so far

Originally from Africa, monkeypox is usually transmitted to humans by primates in the continent's forest zones. Inter-human transmission is possible through direct contact with an infected person's rashes or through saliva droplets.

Since mid-May, around twenty monkeypox cases have been discovered in the UK, five in Portugal, two in Canada, one in the United States, one in Italy, one in Sweden, and one in France.

According to the Belgian Health Minister, the viral disease is rare and generally provokes mild symptoms. It therefore represents "a low risk for the general population". The Health Ministry further put out a statement to underline that "people with multiple sexual partners should be particularly careful".