No one has been infected with monkeypox virus in Bangladesh yet, said the Health Ministry on Tuesday.

A report on the detection of a monkeypox infected foreign national in Bangladesh which is circulating on social media, online and electronic media is not true, according to a media release of the ministry.

No monkeypox case has been detected yet in the country and if any case is found in future, people will be informed through press release, it said.

Earlier in the day, a Turkish citizen, who showed suspected symptoms of monkeypox, was sent to hospital after arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, authorities said.

The man was first taken to the Airport Health Centre and then sent to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali, said Dr Shahrier Sazzad, in-charge of Airport Health Centre.

The traveler arrived by a flight of Turkish Airlines at noon. The airport health authorities detected symptoms of monkeypox in him during screening, said Dr Shahrier.

On May 22, the government instructed the authorities concerned to strengthen surveillance at land, air and sea ports for screening travelers coming to Bangladesh from countries with confirmed monekypox cases.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a notice in this regard.

According to the notice, monkeypox is not a new disease. It was found among people in West and Middle African countries in the past. Recently it has been detected among people living in European and American countries with no history of travelling in the African countries.

People who contracted the virus or came close to the infected people should be listed as suspected patients of monkeypox, it said.

The suspected patients or patients having symptoms should be taken to government hospitals or Infectious Diseases Hospital and kept in isolation and it should be reported to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).