A
"first case of monkey pox"
has been detected in Egypt, in a 42-year-old man placed since
"in solitary confinement in a hospital"
, authorities announced on Wednesday, September 7.
The man
“holds a residence permit from a European country in which he regularly visits
,” said the Ministry of Health of the most populous country in the Arab world.
At the end of August, the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed to have identified 35 cases of monkey pox in seven countries in the Middle East and the Maghreb.
Since May, infections with monkeypox have been on the rise outside West and Central Africa, where it was already endemic.
So much so that the WHO triggered its highest level of alert at the end of July in an attempt to control the disease.
18 deaths in the world
A total of 18 people have died worldwide since May.
According to the WHO dashboard which lists all confirmed cases, as of September 7, there were 54,709 cases and 18 deaths recorded in 125 countries, 98% of which are in Europe and North America.
Monkeypox can be caught through close physical contact with an infected person, animal or material.
It usually goes away on its own after two to four weeks.
The first symptoms are fever, headache, muscle and back pain for five days.
Rashes then appear on the face, palms, and soles, followed by painful lesions, pimples, and finally scabs.