Israel, Switzerland, and Austria have become the latest countries to confirm cases of monkeypox, taking the total number of nations where the disease has been recently reported to 15. Israeli authorities said that they have detected the country’s first monkeypox case in a man who returned from abroad and were looking into other suspected cases. Israel’s Health Ministry said late Saturday (May 21, 2022) that the man was in a Tel Aviv hospital in good condition.

It called on anyone returning from abroad with fever and lesions to see a doctor. Israel’s case is reportedly the first identified in the Middle East.

A first case was also confirmed in Switzerland in the Canton of Bern, the IANS news agency reported citing the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

“As far as is known, the affected person came into contact with the virus abroad. The sick person is receiving outpatient treatment and is in isolation at home,” FOPH said.

Austria also reported a case of monkeypox, media reports claimed.