The World Health Organization announced 780 laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases from 27 non-endemic countries on Sunday, while maintaining that the worldwide risk level remained moderate.

The WHO stated that the 780 cases reported from May 13 to Thursday were most likely underestimated because of insufficient epidemiological and laboratory data.

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"It is highly likely that other countries will identify cases and there will be further spread of the virus,"  the UN health agency stated. Apart from individuals being segregated, there have been few hospitalizations reported.

According to the WHO, the non-endemic nations with the most instances include the United Kingdom (207), Spain (156), Portugal (138), Canada (58), and Germany (57).

Aside from Europe and North America, single-digit instances have been documented in Argentina, Australia, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.

An epidemic of monkeypox is defined as one case in a non-endemic country.

According to the WHO, "Some countries are reporting that new generations of cases are no longer appearing only among known contacts of previously confirmed cases, suggesting that chains of transmission are being missed through undetected circulation of the virus."

In a disease outbreak update, the organization explained that although the risk remains low, "the public health risk could become high if this virus exploits the opportunity to establish itself in non-endemic countries as a widespread human pathogen."

"WHO assesses the risk at the global level as moderate considering this is the first time that many monkeypox cases and clusters are reported concurrently in non-endemic and endemic countries."

Many instances are not present with the normal clinical picture for monkeypox: pustules begin before symptoms such as fever, and lesions arise at different stages of development, both of which are unusual.

According to the WHO, there have been no deaths related to outbreaks in non-endemic countries, although cases and deaths from endemic regions continue to be documented.

Nigeria recorded its first death in 2022 on May 30.