After discovering a monkeypox patient, Jordan begins a campaign to investigate the source of infection

Jordan launched a campaign on Monday to track monkeypox infections, after discovering an infection with the virus inside the Kingdom.

The head of the National Center for Epidemic and Communicable Disease Control, Adel Al-Balbeisi, said that those who came into contact with the person who tested positive for monkeypox are being tracked and the source of infection is being investigated.

Al-Balbeisi expected that the infected person had caught the infection from another person, explaining that monkeypox is only contagious when skin ulcers appear.

Earlier on Monday, the Jordanian Ministry of Health announced that laboratory results confirmed a case of monkeypox infection in a non-Jordanian resident in Jordan.

Al-Balbeisi noted that this is the first case recorded in Jordan this year, but in 2022, a case of monkeypox was also recorded.

He stressed that the laboratories of the Ministry of Health and the laboratories of the National Center for Epidemic and Communicable Disease Control are ready to diagnose any case, and that the reagents are available to both parties.

He explained that isolation is very important for patients to ensure that this disease is not transmitted to others, noting that there are two strains of this disease, one strain that is widespread in Central Africa, specifically in the Congo and neighboring countries, and another strain that is widespread in West Africa.

He explained that the symptoms of the disease begin with fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain, general fatigue, ulcers, and swollen lymph nodes. What distinguishes it is that after 3 days to a week of these symptoms, a rash begins, and this rash takes the form of painful ulcers.