S. Korea confirms 1st monkeypox infection

SEOUL, June 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea confirmed its first case of monkeypox infection on Wednesday out of the two suspected cases.

A South Korean national who arrived here from Germany Tuesday afternoon was confirmed to be infected with the virus, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The patient developed headache from Saturday and showed symptoms, including mild fever, sore throat, asthenia, fatigue and skin lesions, when arriving here.

On arrival, the South Korean voluntarily reported to the health authorities and was admitted to the Incheon Medical Center in Incheon, west of the capital Seoul.

Another suspected patient, a foreigner who arrived here on Monday, tested positive for chickenpox, not monkeypox.

After developing symptoms such as a sore throat and skin lesions from Sunday, the foreigner visited a hospital in Busan, about 450 km southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday and was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

The health authorities raised the risk level of monkeypox from "attention" to "caution" to contain the virus spread through cooperation among ministries.

South Korea has designated monkeypox as a second-degree infectious disease in its four-tier system. In the second-degree category were 22 contagious diseases such as COVID-19.