USA records first case of monkeypox of new strain

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Sunday  that it has recorded the first case of monkeypox subtype 1 in California, making it the first known case of this type in the United States.

The American news network “CNN” quoted the center as saying in a statement: “The infected person was a person who recently came to the United States from East Africa, and he received treatment upon arrival in the country at a local medical facility before being allowed to leave.”

The statement pointed out that  the subtype responsible for most of the current outbreaks, type “LB”, is relatively new and has been reported in Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom,.

It noted that the initial symptoms are similar to those of influenza, including fever, chills, fatigue, headache and muscle weakness, often followed by a painful or itchy rash with raised lesions that crust and disappear over weeks.

Data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in October showed that monkeypox cases are still spreading across the continent and have increased by more than 500 percent from last year. The World Health Organization WHO declared monkeypox a global “public health emergency” in August, the highest level of warning the organization can issue.