Nagpur: Another 50 suspected cases are being investigated, according to the World Health Organization, which did not name any countries and warned that more cases are likely to be reported.

Infections have been confirmed in nine European countries, as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia. Monkeypox is most prevalent in rural areas of Central and West Africa.

According to the UK’s National Health Service, the rare viral infection is usually mild and most people recover in a few weeks. The virus is not easily spread, and the risk to the general public is said to be very low. There is currently no vaccine for monkeypox, but a smallpox vaccination provides 85 percent protection because the two viruses are so similar.

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister, has directed the National Centre for Disease Control and the ICMR to keep a close eye on the situation. The United Nations Health Organization had called an emergency meeting to discuss the new virus, which the UKHSA had warned was spreading among gay men.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients in the past.