The World Health Organization recommends that various measures be taken against monkeypox but does not think there is cause for concern, DPA reported.

"This is not a disease that the public should be afraid of. It is not like COVID-19," Sylvie Briand, a WHO expert, said at a briefing in Geneva.

However, states must register the infected in a timely manner and isolate contacts. The WHO suggests that most cases of monkeypox will be mild. However, pregnant women, children and people with weak immune systems are at greater risk of developing the disease.

"We have a good time window to stop the spread of the disease now," Briand said. She added, however, that it was not clear what countries had stocks of smallpox vaccines.

There is still no specially developed vaccine against monkeypox but according to the WHO, existing smallpox vaccines are about 85 percent effective against this disease.

The organization expects the number of cases of monkeypox to continue to grow. So far, infections have been identified in more than 20 countries, the WHO said. There are a total of about 200 cases of infection, the Associated Press notes.

"We don't know if what we're seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg, or if there are many more unidentified cases," Briand admitted. She added that the reasons for the current development of the situation with the spread of the disease are still unclear.

Argentina, meanwhile, has registered the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Latin America, the Associated Press reported, citing a government official.

It was a man who traveled to Spain.

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