ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday recorded its first case of monkeypox, local media reported.

The patient is a 29-year-old woman from a Western African nation and is receiving the necessary medical care, said a Health Ministry statement carried by the official WAM news agency.

Those who were in contact with the patient are being identified and their health are also being monitored, the statement said.

The UAE is the first Arab and Gulf country to confirm a case of the monkeypox.

On Tuesday, an expert from the World Health Organization said more than 250 cases of monkeypox from 16 countries have been officially reported.

Since the beginning of May, several monkeypox cases have been detected in nine EU countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, as well as in Canada, Australia, and the US.

Monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans from animals, with symptoms including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar