France reports first case of monkeypox
May 20, 2022
Paris [France], May 20 : France reported its first case of monkeypox on Friday, country's Health Ministry confirmed the case after a PCR test was done on the patient a day before.
Citing French news channel BFMTV, Xinhua reported that a patient is a 29-year-old man residing in the Ile-de-France region.
As his condition is not considered serious and worrying, the man is isolating at his home, the report said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to convene an emergency meeting of experts to discuss the latest outbreak of monkeypox in wake of rapidly rising cases, according to Russian media.
The meeting's agenda is believed to be the ways of the virus' transmission, its high prevalence in gays and bisexual men, as well as the situation with vaccines, Sputnik News Agency citing The Telegraph reported on Friday.
Since early May, the cases of monkeypox have been witnessed in several countries across the world including the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Australia and Canada.
On May 7, a case of monkeypox has been confirmed in England, in a patient who recently travelled from Nigeria, as per the UK Health Security Agency.
On May 18, the US' Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male with recent travel to Canada.
According to the release, the case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition.
"Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. Most infections last 2-to-4 weeks. In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products," the statement reads.
