YEREVAN, August 22. /TASS/. The Armenian authorities have decided to ban the import and transit of all species of rodents and primates to prevent outbreaks of monkeypox, the press service of the food safety inspection body said.

"In order to prevent outbreaks and the emergence of the monkeypox disease, the import and transit transportation of all species of rodents and primates through the territory of the Republic of Armenia is prohibited from August 21," the report said. The agency specified that this decision will remain in force until the World Health Organization (WHO) issues a clarification.

Earlier, the Health Ministry reported that no cases of the monkeypox infection had been detected in Armenia. The probability of an outbreak of this type of disease in the republic is low.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the outbreak of monkeypox in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. Mpox is a viral disease that occurs mainly in remote areas in central and western Africa located near tropical forests. The first case the disease was transmitted from an animal to a human was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.