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The Ministry of Health and Wellness has confirmed the presence of the Monkeypox virus locally.
The individual who has tested positive locally is a male who recently travelled from the United Kingdom.
He presented to a public health facility on July 5 and is now isolated and his close contacts quarantined after contract tracing was done, disclosed Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton at an emergency press conference on Wednesday.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that is spread primarily through animals. While person-to-person spread is uncommon, it may occur through direct contact with an infected individual.
Infection typically results in a number of symptoms, including fever, back pain and muscle pain, and the formation of lesions and skin rashes.
More than 3,400 confirmed Monkeypox cases and one death were reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as of late June, with a majority of them from Europe, the health agency said in an update on June 27.
WHO said since June 17, some 1,310 new cases were reported to the agency, with eight new countries reporting Monkeypox cases.
The disease is not yet considered a global health emergency, WHO said last month, although its Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was deeply concerned about the outbreak.
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