Bahrain detects first case of monkeypox

Kingdom is latest Gulf nation to report the virus, found in a recent traveller from Europe

Healthcare workers prepare monkeypox vaccines at the Test Positive Aware Network nonprofit clinic in Chicago. Reuters

People line up outside the Test Positive Aware Network nonprofit clinic to receive the monkeypox vaccine in Chicago, Illinois. Reuters

Dr Emily Drwiega from the University of Illinois Health and Maggie Butler, a registered nurse, prepare monkeypox vaccines. Reuters

An employee of the GGD Haaglanden prepares equipment to dispense the monkeypox vaccination at a vaccination location in Rijswijk, in the Netherlands. EPA

A health worker walks inside an isolation ward built as a precautionary measure for monkeypox patients at a civil hospital in Ahmedabad, India. on July 25. AFP

Crowds queue for monkeypox vaccinations at Guys Hospital on July 24 in London. Getty Images

A man receives a vaccination dose against monkeypox in London. Getty Images

A man receives a monkeypox vaccine at an outdoor walk-in clinic in Montreal on Saturday, July 23. AP

Bahrain is the latest country in the Middle East to detect a first case of monkeypox, days after Egypt and Jordan also recorded their first infections.

The island kingdom’s ministry of health said a symptomatic patient had tested positive for the virus after returning from overseas.

On September 8, health authorities in Jordan said a 30-year-old man and in Egypt, a 42-year-old person, tested positive.

Both had travelled to Europe.

So far, monkeypox has spread to more than 102 countries with about 57,000 cases detected, according to the latest figures from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typical symptoms of the virus include distinctive sores or skin blisters, fever, headaches, fatigue and fever.

There are several modes of transmission for monkeypox, including skin-to-skin contact, kissing, or touching infected materials such as bed linen.

It is fatal in fewer than one case in 10, with most people making a full recovery within a few weeks.

An American man in Los Angeles County, California, is thought to be the first US citizen to die from the virus, although the exact cause of death is still under investigation.

The US has pledged $15 million to address the global outbreak via the US Agency for International Development.

Low and middle-income countries will benefit from the fund, which offers technical assistance, diagnostic tests, laboratory tools, protective equipment and public education.

The first case of monkeypox in the UAE was detected in May.