Egypt Reports First Case of Monkeypox

Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced that it has detected the first monkeypox case in Egypt: an Egyptian man who has a residency in a European country.

The ministry added in a statement that the 42-year-old man was isolated in a hospital and that his condition was stable.

The male patient was detected amid epidemiological monitoring procedures the ministry is carrying out nationwide, and that preventive measures, approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), have been taken with the patient and the people in direct contact with him.

In July, the World Health Organization declared the recent international outbreak of Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.

As of September, 18,463 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from 29 countries.

Monkeypox is not a new disease, as it was first discovered in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to a family of viruses called Orthopoxvirus that includes smallpox.

As monkeypox is related to smallpox, the smallpox vaccine can provide protection, yet there is no available vaccine or treatments for monkeypox.

Initial symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle weakness, followed by swelling in the lymph nodes. This is followed by other symptoms that include a rash on the face and body, which can also take place inside the mouth.