France has identified its first case of the new mpox variant, news agency AFP reported on Monday, citing a statement from the country's health ministry.

French health officials announced on Tuesday its first case of a dangerous new strain of the mpox virus that has created havoc in central Africa.

France's health ministry confirmed its first case of a new mpox virus. The detection comes just weeks after the World Health Organization upheld its highest alert level in response to the ongoing epidemic.

France reported its first case of a new strain of mpox that has ravaged Central Africa over the past year, in a patient who had not travelled to the hotspot region. The patient in the French region of Brittany had been in contact with two people who travelled from Central Africa.