US Army Base in Germany Confirms First Monkeypox Case in American Military

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A US military base in Stuttgart, Germany, confirmed the first-known monkeypox case in the American military, the US Army Health Clinic at Stuttgart said on Friday.

"An active duty service member from the Stuttgart military community recently tested positive for monkeypox," the clinic said in a statement. "The individual was seen and treated at the Stuttgart Army Health clinic and is currently in isolation recovering in their quarters."

The clinic said public health officials have determined that the risk to the overall population is very low, but as a precautionary measure, contact tracing is being done for clinic staff who interacted with the patient.

The case detected in Stuttgart is of the West African variant, which is generally mild and human-to-human transmission is limited, the clinic said.

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted to people from wild animals and is endemic in some African countries. The disease can be transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets and other contaminated materials. The disease usually results in fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.

An outbreak of monkeypox began in May in non-endemic countries, according to the World Heath Organization. US media reported that as of Thursday there are more than 1,200 monkeypox cases around the world, mostly in North America and Europe. In the United States there are 40 suspected or confirmed cases, media reported.