According to the short statement released by the health ministry, the male patient was detected during epidemiological monitoring procedures upon his arrival in Egypt on 25 September.

The current condition of the patient is stable, the statement said, adding that all required health and preventive measures have been taken with the patient's contacts in accordance with the treatment and follow-up procedures approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The health ministry has not revealed the nationality of the patient or where he came from.

Egypt officially declared its first monkeypox case in early September in a 42-year-old Egyptian who has residency in a European country and frequently visited it, according to the health ministry.

Later, the ministry declared in mid-September that he arrived from Spain and the people who came in contact with the carrier have been put under observation for 21 days, but none have shown symptoms so far.

In remarks to Ahram Online, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said the patient was not suffering from any severe symptoms and is in stable condition.

Monkeypox has made headlines globally since 23 July when the WHO director-general declared the escalating global outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), with more than 16,000 reported cases in 75 countries and territories and five deaths at the time.

The monkeypox virus was discovered in 1958 when it was first identified as a distinct illness. For the WHO, monkeypox primarily occurs in central and west Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests, and has been increasingly appearing in urban areas. 

It is a viral zoonotic infection, meaning that it can spread from animals to humans and can also spread from person to person through close contact with a patient who has a monkeypox rash, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, including sexual contact.

Several Arab countries reported cases of monkeypox in the past months, including UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.