Monkeypox case suspected in Kosovo, sample to be sent to the Netherlands

 Infectious Diseases Clinic in Pristina, Kosovo

 A patient in Kosovo has been registered as a suspected case that he may have been infected with monkeypox. The Ministry of Health has announced that on June 3, a 69-year-old man from Dragash/Dragaashi sought help from the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo.

According to the ministry, a sample of the skin change was taken from the patient and will be sent to the World Health Organization reference laboratory in the Netherlands for testing.

"We are also waiting for the laboratory results until the final diagnosis according to the foreseen criteria", it is said in the announcement of the ministry.

According to the MoH, the patient is in stable condition and in isolation, while epidemiological surveillance and contact tracking continues.

Monkeypox was first discovered in monkeys in 1958 in Africa. The first human case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So far, monkeypox has been concentrated in only a small number of African countries. But in recent weeks, have appeared quickly in several countries in Europe, the US, Australia, and others. Their number has already reached several hundred.