Bulgaria reports first monkeypox cases

FILE PHOTO: Samples of suspected cases of monkeypox get tested at a microbiology lab in Madrid

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's health ministry reported the country's first confirmed cases of monkeypox virus on Thursday, saying the cases included two men who were in stable condition in Sofia hospitals.

The health ministry said the men had travelled to Spain and Britain in the past two weeks but it was not aware of any contact they had had with infected people.

Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. It is endemic in parts of Africa.

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova, Writing by Michael Kahn, editing by John Stonestreet)