The Zagreb-based Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic" reported on Thursday evening that it had diagnosed the first case of monkeypox infection in a man who has recently returned from his trip to Italy and Spain, state agency Hina reported on Friday, citing state television HRT.

The man was not hospitalized because he had reportedly developed only mild symptoms of the viral disease. He is self-isolating at home. Monkeypox has recently spread outside Africa, where it originates from, to a number of other countries worldwide. An estimated 2,500 cases have so far been detected in 35 countries outside Africa.

Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. It is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus, said the World Health Organisation.

Hina did not say what the symptoms of the disease look like.