Turkey Reports First Case Of Monkeypox, 37-Year-Old Patient With Immune Problems

JAKARTA - Turkey has detected the first case of monkeypox in a 37-year-old patient who is currently in isolation.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the virus had so far been found in more than 50 new countries -- outside of countries in Africa, which do not see the disease as endemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says cases of monkeypox are also on the rise in these countries. Correspondingly, WHO appealed to them to increase testing.

"Monkeypox has been detected in one of our patients. The patient is 37 years old and has immune system problems," Koca wrote on Twitter.

He said the patient was isolated and follow-up was being carried out to trace people who might have been in contact with the patient. So far, no other cases of monkeypox have been found.

Since the disease began to emerge in May, 3,400 cases of monkeypox have been detected, mostly in Europe among men who have sex with the same sex, according to WHO data.

In addition, there have been more than 1,500 cases and 66 deaths this year in countries where the outbreak commonly spreads.

Last week, the WHO ruled that the disease was not yet considered a health emergency -- the agency's highest level of alert.