The Argentine Ministry of Health said in a statement that “the result of the PCR examination for the first suspected case of monkeypox was positive.”
The statement added that the injured is undergoing treatment, while his close contacts, who have not yet shown any symptoms, are being monitored.
The Ministry of Health also revealed a second suspected case of a resident of Spain who is currently visiting Argentina, but he is not related to the other infected person.
“The person has ulcers without other associated symptoms,” the ministry said.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox is a rare and zoonotic viral disease (the virus is transmitted from animal to human), and the symptoms of human infection with it are similar to those of people with smallpox, but are less severe.
Some patients develop enlarged lymph nodes before a rash appears, a feature that distinguishes monkeypox from other similar diseases.
There is no treatment or vaccine available to combat the virus, although vaccination against smallpox has proven highly effective in preventing it.
Monkeypox was first detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, and since then most cases have been reported in rural rainforest areas of the Congo Basin and West Africa.
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