Latvia gets first confirmed monkeypox case
Latvian authorities have confirmed the first case of monkeypox to have been identified in that country, public broadcaster LSM reports.
Latvia's disease control and prevention center made the announcement Friday, LSM's English-language portal reports, and said the case concerned an adult aged under 50, who presented with mild symptoms and who had contracted the illness while abroad, in an EU country.
The patient remains under medical supervision, while authorities stated that individuals who are potential close contacts of the patient will not require quarantining as was the case with the coronavirus, due to the slower propagation of the disease, but should nonetheless monitor their health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, i.e. transmitted to humans from animals, and also between humans, and typically presents with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes, sometimes followed by other medical complications
Symptoms last between two and four weeks, LSM reports, though severe cases do exist and the fatality rate in recent times has been put at 3-6 percent.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
