VLADIVOSTOK - Russia's first monkeypox cases were likely imported, possibly via animals smuggled into the country, Galina Kompanets, associate professor of the School of Medicine and Life Sciences at Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University, said on Tuesday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
Two patients with mpox were admitted to Domodedovo Hospital in the Moscow Region on Sunday. Authorities have traced their contacts, with medical monitoring and isolation measures underway.
"Most likely, [the virus was] imported, because we do not have mpox here. On rare occasions, it could come from smuggled monkeys, for example, from Africa. Normally, they are all checked and quarantined after importation.
"So it could be some kind of illegal import, that is, animal smuggling. Animal smuggling could bring in the virus," Kompanets said.
Illegally imported animals pose serious risks, she added, stressing the virus is definitely foreign to Russia. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI