Cuba records first case of monkeypox

Cuba said on Saturday that its authorities recorded the first case of monkeypox in the country after confirming  an infection of an Italian tourist who is in a critical condition, Ministry of Health announced.

The ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television that the patient, who arrived in Cuba on Monday and was taken to hospital three days later, was “in critical condition and his life is in danger”.

It added that the patient’s condition worsened after he felt unwell last Wednesday, and by Thursday he had been taken to hospital “for intensive treatment, where he had suffered a heart attack from which he recovered.”

The ministry said the tourist lived in a rented house and “visited several places in the western provinces of the country,” without specifying his age or any other details.

Cuba confirmed that it would impose measures in the country to deal with monkeypox.

E,M