According to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox reported worldwide in 78 countries, most of them in Europe.
The WHO declared a global health emergency on Saturday.
So far, 98 percent of cases outside countries in Africa where the virus is endemic have been reported in men who have sex with men, the WHO said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged this group to consider reducing the number of new sexual partners and exchanging contact details with new ones.
“This is an outbreak that can be stopped… The best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure,” Tedros told a news conference from Geneva.
“That means making safe choices for yourself and others.”
However, the WHO stressed that anyone can be infected.
“In addition to sexual transmission, monkeypox can also be spread in households through close contact between people, such as hugging and kissing, and through contaminated towels or bedding,” Tedros said.
The outbreak can be stopped “if countries, communities and individuals are informed, take the risks seriously and take the necessary measures to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups,” Tedros said.
WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said Monkeypox is in the process of changing the name to prevent the name from being “weaponised” or used in a racist way.
The UN agency recommends vaccination for high-risk groups, including health workers and men who have sex with men with multiple sexual partners.
He cautioned that it takes several weeks after getting the second dose of vaccine to be fully protected, so people should take other precautions until then.
About 10 percent of patients have been hospitalized in the current outbreak and five have died, all of them in Africa, the WHO said.
Monkeypox has been a neglected global public health problem in parts of Africa for decades, but cases outside endemic countries began to be reported in May.
It usually causes mild to moderate symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, and painful skin lesions that resolve within a few weeks.
Smallpox and monkeypox viruses are closely related, and the first generation of smallpox vaccines appears to be up to 85% effective in preventing smallpox, the WHO has said.
Tedros said Wednesday that about 16 million doses of the approved vaccine were available, but only in bulk, so it would take several months to put them into vials.
The WHO is urging countries with stockpiles to share the vaccine while supplies are limited, he added.
It is estimated that five to ten million doses of vaccine will be needed to protect all high-risk groups.
with DPA