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The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been identified worldwide.
The cases have been found in more than 20 countries that are not generally known to have outbreaks of the virus.
The agency has consistently described reported monkeypox outbreaks as “containable”, although there are still many unknowns about what triggered the infections and the reported cases are likely undercounted.
Dr Sylvie Briand, director of pandemic and epidemic diseases at the WHO, explained that the figures could increase in the coming days and that the event is “unusual”.
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She told a press conference on Friday that the spread was likely due to a change in “human behavior” rather than the virus, although the WHO is still investigating the cause.
“There is also a lot of uncertainty about the future and this disease (…) because it is not known if this transmission will stop,” she said, noting that the WHO hopes that there will be “self-limiting epidemics” and that she does not know the extent of the disease.
Currently, Briand added, they don’t know if the world is just seeing the tip of the iceberg and it’s difficult to assess the risks in communities.
Traditionally, the monkeypox virus is transmitted by touching or being bitten by infected wild animals in West and Central Africa.
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However, the former head of the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency department told The Associated Press earlier this week that cases in Europe appear to have spread due to sexual activity in raves in Spain and Belgium.
Although not a sexually transmitted infection, it can be transmitted through personal and sexual contact, with a notable fraction of recorded cases occurring in gay and bisexual men.
However, Spanish authorities said on Friday the number of cases had risen to 98, including a woman whose infection is “directly linked” to a chain of transmission that was previously limited to men.
The number of cases in Portugal and the United Kingdom has also increased.
To treat monkeypox, some smallpox vaccines and treatments are available – no vaccine has been specifically developed against monkeypox – and the WHO has offered to create a stockpile to fairly share what is available.
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Dr Rosamund Lewis, head of the WHO’s smallpox department, said “there is no need for mass vaccination” because monkeypox does not spread easily.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows there are 10 cases in eight US states.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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