Ecuador detects first case of monkeypox

Ecuadorian health authorities announced on Wednesday the confirmation of the first case of monkeypox in the country.

“This is a 30-year-old patient who presented symptoms related to this disease: fever, weakness, general malaise and vesicles (similar to pimples),” the Ministry of Public Health said in a statement.

The health entity reported that the patient is hospitalized in isolation in the province of Guayas, along with the people who were in contact with him.

In early May, the World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted to an outbreak of monkey pox in countries outside of Africa, where this deadly disease has been circulating for decades.

However, at the end of June, an independent committee of WHO experts concluded that the spread of monkeypox in several countries around the world is of concern, but does not constitute what the body considers a public health emergency of international importance.

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