Czech Republic detects its first case of monkeypox

Test tubes labelled “Monkeypox virus positive and negative” are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

PRAGUE, May 24 (Reuters) – The Czech Republic detected its first case of monkeypox on Tuesday in a woman returning from a festival in Belgium, officials said on Tuesday.

The patient was being treated at Prague’s Central Military Hospital, the head of the Czech Infectious Medicine Society (SIL), Pavel Dlouhy, said, confirming the case, which had earlier been reported by news website Seznam Zpravy.

The National Institute of Public Health (SZU) said a sample from one of three people tested had been positive, although final testing results would be confirmed next week.

The two other suspected patients’ tests were also still being worked on, it said.

It said the first patient had attended a music festival in Antwerp at the start of May and began showing symptoms after her return.

Several other European countries have reported their first confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox.

The outbreaks are raising alarm because monkeypox, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere. read more

Reporting by Robert Muller and Jason Hovet; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

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