A first case of monkeypox was detected in Japan on Monday in a man in his thirties who traveled abroad, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced.
A 30-year-old man hospitalized
“He is a man in his thirties with a history of traveling abroad,” particularly in Europe, Yuriko Koike told reporters. “This is the first case of monkeypox in Japan,” she said.
The man was hospitalized in Tokyo, it added, without giving further details.
The case was reported hours after the Japanese government convened a task force meeting to gather information on the disease and prepare to test and receive patients in hospitals.
A moderate risk in the world but high in Europe
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, decided to activate the highest level of alert on Saturday in an attempt to stop the outbreak of monkeypox worldwide.
Since the beginning of May, when it was detected outside of African countries where it is endemic, the disease has affected more than 16,836 people in 74 countries, according to the control panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). USA as of July 22.
A study published Thursday in the scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine confirms that in 95% of recent cases, the disease was transmitted during sexual contact and 98% of those affected were homosexual or bisexual men.
According to Doctor Teros, the risk in the world is relatively moderate except in Europe where it is high.
The European Commission has approved the extension of a vaccine from the Nordic Bavarian pharmaceutical group against the spread of monkeypox, the Danish laboratory announced on Monday.
The Imvanex vaccine has been approved in the EU since 2013 for the prevention of smallpox.
A group of experts from Japan’s Ministry of Health will examine on Friday whether smallpox vaccines stored in the country can be used against monkeypox.
Source: BFM TV
