This undated image obtained from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland, shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (green) found within an infected cell (pink and purple), cultured in the laboratory. Image Credit: Reuters

DUBAI: Bahrain has detected its first monkeypox case, the state news agency BNA said on Friday, citing the health ministry.

The ministry said the patient was returning from abroad when his symptoms were suspected and diagnosed, BNA added.

Since early May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported from countries where the disease is not endemic, and continue to be reported in several endemic countries.

Most confirmed cases with travel history reported travel to countries in Europe and North America, rather than West or Central Africa where the monkeypox virus is endemic. This is the first time that many monkeypox cases and clusters have been reported concurrently in non-endemic and endemic countries in widely disparate geographical areas, according to WHO.

Most reported cases so far have been identified through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary health-care facilities and have involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men.