Israel's Health Ministry issued a statement on Thursday urging medical personnel to be on alert for monkeypox as European and American health authorities have identified a number of cases in recent days, mostly in young men. It's a surprising outbreak of a disease that rarely appears outside Africa.
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Health officials around the world are keeping watch for more cases because, for the first time, the disease appears to be spreading among people who didn't travel to Africa. They stress, however, that the risk to the general population is low.
"Monkeypox is a viral disease that can be transmitted by rodents and monkeys as well as close human-to-human contact. The disease manifests as fever, rash and enlarged lymph nodes," the ministry said in a statement.
"We have noted that in recent days approximately 50 cases have been reported in a number of countries and that other cases are currently under investigation. The Health Ministry is following the reports closely and is in contact with the health authorities of different countries," the statement said.
"In Israel, no cases have been reported so far," the ministry stressed.
Monkeypox, or "simian orthopoxvirus," is a rare disease whose pathogen can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa. It belongs to the same virus family as smallpox but causes milder symptoms.
Most patients only experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. People with more serious illnesses may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
The incubation period is from about five days to three weeks. Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized.
Monkeypox can be fatal for up to one in 10 people and is thought to be more severe in children.
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People exposed to the virus are often given one of several smallpox vaccines, which have been shown to be effective against monkeypox. Anti-viral drugs are also being developed.
On Thursday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control recommended that all suspected cases be isolated and that high-risk contacts be offered the smallpox vaccine.
The World Health Organization estimates there are thousands of monkeypox infections in about a dozen African countries every year. Most are in Congo, which reports about 6,000 cases annually, and Nigeria, with about 3,000 cases a year.
In 2003, 47 people in six US states had confirmed or probable cases. They caught the virus from pet prairie dogs that had been housed near imported small mammals from Ghana.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
