The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from 30 countries that are not endemic to the virus.
Addressing a press conference, WHO’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said investigations are going on but a sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests there may have been undetected transmission for some time.
“So far, most cases have been reported among men who have sex with men presenting with symptoms at sexual health clinics. These communities are working hard to inform their members about the risks of monkeypox, and prevent transmission,” Tedros said.
Tedros said the WHO has urged countries affected with monkeypox to widen their surveillance and to look for causes in the broader community.
“Anyone can be infected with monkeypox if they have close physical contact with someone else who is infected,” he added.
The WHO’s director-general also said the situation is evolving and the United Nations’ health agency expects that more cases will continue to be found, adding that generally monkeypox symptoms resolve on their own, but it can be severe in some cases.
A day earlier, the WHO had said it was not clear whether monkeypox’s spread could be contained completely and that the objective is to resolve symptoms on their own, but it can be severe in some cases.
The 30 countries where confirmed cases of monkeypox have been detected include Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Australia and the United States among others.
In the latest developments, the total number of monkeypox cases across Spain and Portugal has crossed 250, while in Italy, the count has risen to 20 and cases will increase in the coming days.