Australia says man returned from Europe likely has monkey pox

A man in his forties developed the disease, characterized by a characteristic rash, a few days after returning home to Sydney.

Australian authorities have identified a likely case of monkeypox in a man who recently returned from Europe, as Canada confirmed the first two cases, amid a growing outbreak of the rare disease in non-endemic countries.

The man in his 40s contracted a mild illness a few days after arriving in Sydney and showed symptoms clinically compatible with monkey pox, the state health department of New South Wales (NSW) said. The man and a household contact are in isolation at home.

Canada reported the first two confirmed cases of monkey pox on Thursday evening.

“Tonight, the province of Quebec was notified that two samples received by the NML (National Microbiology Laboratory) tested positive for monkeypox. These are the first two cases confirmed in Canada,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a press release.

17 more suspected cases are under investigation in Montreal, Quebec’s largest city, authorities said.

Monkeypox cases have been identified in several non-endemic countries in Europe and North America this month after the United Kingdom notified the World Health Organization of a case in early May.

Health authorities suspect some of the infections occurred through sexual contact – in this case among gay or bisexual men – and four of the UK cases were identified among people visiting sexual health clinics after developing the rash associated with monkeypox.

The disease was first recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1970s and is most common in West and Central Africa. Similar to human smallpox, but milder, symptoms include fever, headache, and rash that start in the face and spread to the rest of the body. Patients usually recover within a few weeks.

Health officials in NSW have taken steps to identify and manage potential cases of monkeypox, including clinical alerts to doctors and hospitals across the state, said Kerry Chant, NSW Chief Health Officer.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted on Wednesday that anyone “can spread monkeypox through contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox ulcers, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) contaminated with fluids or ulcers from a person with monkeypox,” adding that household disinfectants can kill the virus on surfaces.

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