The first case of monkeypox was discovered in Israel on Friday.

An Israeli man in his 30s was taken to the emergency department of the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv with suspected monkeypox, having returned from a trip to Western Europe. The man was hospitalized for examination and observation in an isolation ward.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the man, aged 30, was admitted to Ichilov Hospital with symptoms suggestive of suspected monkeypox after contact with a patient with monkeypox abroad.

The Ministry is conducting an epidemiological investigation and is coordinating with the Ichilov Hospital to transfer a clinical specimen for confirmation of the diagnosis to the Biological Institute.

The Ministry of Health has urged all persons returning from abroad with fever and blisters to contact their physician and has stated that it will continue to provide updates on the latest developments.

The case in Israel came hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency meeting to discuss the recent monkeypox outbreak after confirming more than 100 cases in Europe.

In what Germany called the largest European outbreak on record, cases were reported in at least eight European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.

At the same time, scientists do not expect the outbreak to develop into a COVID-19-like pandemic, Reuters reported.

Monkeypox is usually a mild viral disease characterized by symptoms of fever as well as a characteristic bumpy rash.

The first European case was confirmed May 7 in a man returning to England from Nigeria. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) on Wednesday confirmed one case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male during a recent trip to Canada.