Illustrative photo (Source: Reuters/VNA)

So far 98% of cases outside the countries in Africa where the virus is endemic have been reported in men who had sex with other men, the WHO said. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged that group to consider reducing the number of new sexual partners and swapping contact details with any new partners.

The European Commission (EC) urged the 27 EU members to take a more forceful and coordinated approach toward monkeypox. In a letter to national health ministers, European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides noted that the EU is the epicenter of detected cases and the bloc need to work together to control the outbreak. Kyriakides urged the health ministers to step up case detection and reporting, contact tracing, isolation, vaccination, and public communication of the risk.