Ljubljana - The first case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Slovenia in a man who arrived from the Canary Islands. The patient, who developed the symptoms after arriving in Slovenia, is doing well, the country's chief epidemiologist Mario Fafangel told the press on Tuesday.

Fafangel said Slovenia thus joined 16 other countries where the virus has been confirmed. International institutions, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), have already been notified, he said.

He stressed the monkeypox virus is not new and that unlike in the case of Covid its spreading could be stopped and had been stopped in several African countries in the past.

The risks associated with the infection have been estimated as low by the WHO and the ECDC, he said.