Mexican health authorities confirmed on Saturday the discovery of the first case of monkeypox in the country, a 50-year-old man residing in the United States.
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“Today (Saturday) we confirmed the first imported case of monkeypox in Mexico. It is a 50-year-old man, permanent resident of New York City, who was probably infected in the Netherlands,” tweeted the undersecretary of health, Hugo López-Gatell Ramirez.
“His condition is stable and he is in administrative isolation. We hope he recovers without complications,” he added.
On Friday, Argentine health authorities confirmed the first two cases of the disease in Argentina and in the region.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans from infected animals. Person-to-person transmission is possible, but is considered rare.
The disease was first detected in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is now considered endemic in a dozen African countries.
So far, confirmed cases in non-endemic regions are generally mild and no deaths have been reported.