Saudi Arabia reports three new monkeypox cases

The people infected were returning from Europe, says Ministry of Health

Monkeypox, seen here as orange spots, on infected Vero E6 cells. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland, US.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health told state news media on Monday that the kingdom has detected three cases of monkeypox.

The ministry's spokesman said the three people infected were returning from Europe and are receiving medical care in accordance with the approved health procedures. All contacts were also accounted for.

The ministry affirmed its readiness and ability to deal with any development of the disease.

On July 14, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced the detection of the first case of monkeypox in a person returning from overseas.

The World Health Organisation declared monkeypox a global emergency on Saturday.

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the spread of the disease, which is now in more than 70 countries, as an “extraordinary” situation.

He made the decision to issue the global health emergency alert despite a lack of consensus among experts serving on the UN health agency's emergency committee.

It is the first time the chief of the UN health agency has taken such action, after more than 16,000 cases were recorded in 74 countries since about May.

Monkeypox is an infection usually spread by wild animals in Africa, particularly rodents such as rats, mice and squirrels.

You can be infected by an animal bite or if you come into contact with an animal’s blood or bodily fluids.

It may be possible to catch monkeypox by eating meat from an infected animal that has not been properly cooked.

Human-to-human transmission can occur through touching the towels or bedding of a patient, touching monkeypox blisters, or through coughs and sneezes.