First Mpox Case Detected in Azerbaijan

A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A case of mpox has been found in Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, adding that the patient had been isolated and was receiving treatment in hospital.
Interfax quoted Azerbaijan's Ministry of Health and Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) as saying the patient was a 22-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan who had been on a tourist trip abroad from Jan. 2-11.
A few days after his return, he went to a clinic in Azerbaijan's capital Baku complaining of weakness, fever, a skin rash, enlarged lymph nodes and muscle pains, Interfax reported.
The ministry and TABIB did not specify where the patient had been abroad.
According to Reuters, Interfax said family members who had been in contact with the patient had shown no signs of the disease and were under home observation.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but it can be lethal.
In August, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency after an mpox outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries and beyond.