A British flight attendant who arrived in Singapore last week has been confirmed as the country’s first recent case of monkeypox.
The 42-year-old male had flown into and out of the city-state in the middle of June, according to information released by the authorities on Tuesday.
It represents the first case of monkeypox in South-East Asia that can be linked to a current worldwide outbreak.
Since May, 42 countries have reported finding more than 2,100 cases.
Health officials in Singapore reported that the individual had been admitted to an isolation ward after testing positive for the illness on Monday.
His thirteen closest associates have likewise been quarantined. Some media reports said that these were his coworkers from the airline and crew.
The first suspected case of the sickness in Korea was also confirmed by South Korean authorities on Tuesday.
Monkeypox typically only affects isolated regions of central and west African nations, but this year there have been an extremely high number of cases outside of Africa that have no travel connections to the continent.
Over 80% of cases have been discovered in Europe, but the disease has also spread to North America, South America, and Australia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In this epidemic, the WHO has reported one fatality.