Nepal on Saturday confirmed its first case of monkeypox infection.

According to the Ministry of the Health and Population, a 60-year-old foreign national has tested positive for monkeypox infection.

"Health condition of the woman, who is a foreign national, is normal," said Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, joint spokesperson of the Health ministry. "She is under observation of doctors at the isolation ward of a Kathmandu hospital."

The ministry refused to disclose the nationality of the infected woman and the country she had been last time.

According to Adhikari, the woman keeps traveling to Nepal and other countries frequently.

Specimens of the woman’s body fluids were tested at the National Public Health Laboratory, which confirmed infection of the virus.

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus and one in 10 infected persons can die. Most common in remote parts of central and west Africa, the disease has now been reported in at least 111 countries, including in Nepal. Its symptoms include fever, headache, swelling, body pains, exhaustion, and itchy rash on the face, hands, and feet.

As the disease primarily spreads through close person-to-person contact, public health experts recommend self-isolation and good hygiene to avoid it. The World Health Organization has designated the disease as a public health emergency of international concerns—which is the highest health alert.

More than 87,000 cases and 112 deaths from monkeypox have been reported in 2022, according to the UN health body.

Public health experts say that even if monkeypox infection is usually mild and most people recover within weeks, authorities concerned should not underestimate the risks. They stress taking precautions saying every disease seen in any corner of the world can come to Nepal due to high mobility.