A British tourist holidaying in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, is feared to have monkeypox.
Health chiefs in the holiday isle are currently looking into five suspected cases of the virus. If confirmed, the Briton would be the first affected in Spain since the nation confirmed its first cases last week.
A spokesman for the Canary Islands' Health Service said that A suspected case of monkeypox in Fuerteventura "corresponds to a British tourist". It is unknown if the tourist is alone on the island or in a party also being tested.
READ MORE: Monkeypox: UK health bosses issues new advice ahead of cases update
Spain has so far confirmed, The Mirror reports, around 40 cases of monkeypox and said another 67 people are being tested. Europe is in a heightened state of alert for the rare condition which causes symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and chills.
Last week Spain reported a number of infections, mainly in the Madrid region where the regional government closed a sauna linked to the majority of infections. Health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero added at the time: "The Public Health Department will carry out an even more detailed analysis... to control contagion, cut the chains of transmission and try to mitigate the transmission of this virus as much as possible."
Most of the cases currently under investigation in Europe have so far been mild with most of those infected expected to recover within a few weeks without treatment. Yesterday it was confirmed the number of monkeypox cases in the UK has risen to 57, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
On Friday, there were 20 cases in England and that figure was expected to climb, with a further 36 now confirmed. Scotland also recorded its first case, taking the total to 57.
Dr Nick Phin, the medical and public health science director at Public Health Scotland, said the infected individual is "being managed and treated in line with nationally agreed protocols and guidance".
Monkeypox is rarely passed between people but can be via close person-to-person contact or contact with items used by a person who has the virus, such as clothes, bedding or utensils. Over the weekend an expert warned the monkeypox outbreak, which has been found across Europe and north America, has reached epidemic proportions, an expert has warned.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is holding daily meetings to keep up to date with the latest on the new health threat.
