Israeli and Swiss officials on May 22 confirmed monkeypox cases as the World Health Organization has warned that the virus could accelerate during the summer months.
Both nations said in their respective statements that they identified at least one infected person who had recently traveled. Israel said it was investigating other suspected monkeypox cases.
“This is a disease, not a pandemic,” Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz wrote on Twitter. “This is a known disease with—usually—light symptoms that is not similar in any way to the coronavirus.”
He added that his agency is prepared to deal with the virus.
Horowitz didn’t give details about the Israeli case, but said the smallpox vaccine also can protect against monkeypox. The patient is a man in his 30s who had returned from a trip to western Europe, according to the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), where he’s been quarantined in mild condition….