The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the monkeypox virus has now been confirmed in 23 non-endemic countries and that there has so far been a cumulative total of 257 laboratory-confirmed cases and around 120 suspected cases.
In a statement, the global health body said that the sudden appearance of monkeypox at once in several countries where the disease is not typically found suggests undetected transmission for some time and recent amplifying events.
The WHO also warned that monkeypox disease now constitutes a moderate risk to overall public health at the global level.
The public health risk could become high if this virus exploits the opportunity to establish itself as a human pathogen and spreads to groups at higher risk of severe disease such as young children and immunosuppressed persons, the health agency said.