Cuba’s first monkeypox case recorded in Italian tourist

Havana: Cuba reported its first case of monkeypox Saturday in an Italian tourist who is in "critical" condition, the health ministry said.

The patient, who arrived in Cuba last Monday and was hospitalised three days later, "is in critical condition with his life in danger," the health ministry said in a note broadcasted by National Television News.

After feeling unwell on Wednesday, the patient’s health worsened and by Thursday he was transferred to the hospital for "intensive treatment, arriving in cardiac arrest from which he recovered."

The tourist had stayed in a rental house and "visited several places in the country’s western provinces," the ministry said. It did not provide the patient’s age or other details. The ministry said it would carry out an approved protocol for dealing with monkeypox.