Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus, part of the same family as smallpox, although typically less severe. 'Anyone who has close contact with someone who is infectious is at risk,' a release on the WHO's website said Wednesday. Children, pregnant woman and the immunocompromised are considered particularly at risk. However, the World Health Organization has cautioned that anyone could be at risk of contracting the virus. The majority of new cases have spread through sex, with a particular concentration among men who have sex with other men. Before this outbreak, cases had been linked to travel to regions where the virus is endemic or imported animals carrying the virus.

It marks the first known community spread of the virus.