June 7 (UPI) — British health authorities have detected an additional 73 cases of monkeypox for a total of 302 infections amid the ongoing outbreak.
The British health security agency announced the infections in a statement Monday, stating gay and bisexual men account for the majority of the cases.
“Anyone can get monkeypox, particularly if you have had close contact, including sexual contact, with an individual with symptoms,” it said, adding that one should go to a sexual health clinic if they have a rash with blisters and have been in close contact with someone who might be infected with the virus or visited West or Central Africa in the past three weeks.
London health officials have said evidence suggests that there may be community spread of the virus.
Britain confirmed its first case of monkeypox in early May among a patient with recent travel history from Nigeria. However, since then, more than two dozen countries have detected monkeypox cases.
Late last week, the World Health Organization said 27 nations had detected nearly 800 cases of the virus, with Britain being the most infected of the countries.
The United Nations’ health body said that since May 29, the number of laboratory confirmed cases has increased 203%.
“There have been no deaths associated within the current monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries,” it said.
On Sunday, Washington, D.C., confirmed its first monkeypox infection with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating Monday that there are 31 cases nationwide.
Monkeypox is a rare disease that is transferable via body fluids and sores.
According to the CDC, fever, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion are among the symptoms induced by monkeypox.
Between one and three days after a patient experiences a fever, a rash develops on the face that spreads over the body. Legions then form and the illness typically lasts between two and four weeks.