The Israeli Occupation announced on Saturday that it recorded a monkeypox infection, the first in the Middle East, after several countries in Europe and North America detected cases of the disease, which is endemic in parts of Africa.

A spokesman for Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv told AFP that a 30-year-old man had been confirmed to have monkeypox after he had recently returned from Western Europe with symptoms.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health had reported that the man had contact with a person infected with monkeypox abroad, noting that a sample was taken for examination and he was placed in quarantine in Ichilov Hospital, with mild symptoms.

The virus causes skin blisters, but is rarely fatal.

In recent weeks, cases of infection have been detected in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia, raising fears that the virus may spread.

Symptoms of the rare disease include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, fatigue, and a chickenpox-like rash on the hands and face.

The virus can be transmitted through contact with skin blisters or the saliva of an infected person, as well as through contact and joint use of bedding or towels.

People with monkeypox usually recover after two to four weeks, according to the World Health Organization.