Italy and Sweden have become the latest countries to record cases of monkeypox amid the first ever global outbreak.
The Italian patient tested positive at a hospital in Rome after returning from the Canary Islands and the Swede was diagnosed in Stockholm.
No further details have been given. It brings the number of countries outside of Africa with confirmed or suspected cases to seven.
Patients with confirmed monkeypox have been recorded in the UK, US, Spainand Portugal, while Canada is probing potential cases.
Experts fear the known cases are the tip of the iceberg, with the majority of patients not linked to each other, suggesting it is spreading more widely.
The outbreak has been described as 'unusual' by experts because person-to-person transmission of monkeypox was thought to be extremely rare.
Until now the virus had only ever been detected in four countries outside of western or central Africa, and all of the cases had direct travel links to the continent.
Patients with confirmed monkeypox have been recorded in the UK, US, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Portugal, while Canada is probing potential cases
Nine Britons have been diagnosed with monkeypox and all but one of them appear to have contracted it in the UK. The original UK patient had brought the virus back from Nigeria, where the disease is widespread. At least three patients are receiving care at specialist NHS units in London and Newcastle
Britain stocks up thousands of monkeypox vaccines amid fear of cases
'One person in the Stockholm region has been confirmed to be infected with monkeypox,' Sweden's Public Health Agency said in a statement.
The infected person 'is not seriously ill, but has been given care,' according to the agency.
'We still don't know where the person was infected. An investigation is currently underway,' Klara Sonden, an infectious disease doctor and investigator at the agency, said in a statement.
The health authority is now 'investigating with the regional infection control centres whether there are more cases in Sweden,' it said.
Italy's patient was holidaying in the Canary Islands and is now in isolation at the Spallanzani hospital in Rome, the hospital said.
Another two other suspected cases are being monitored, it added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it expects more cases in more countries in the coming weeks.
Medical staff told to watch out for monkeypox as outbreak in Europe grows
The Health Ministry on Thursday said it was taking precautions against the possible spread of monkeypox in Israel, as an outbreak of the viral disease in Europe raised alarms among medical authorities.
The ministry said no cases of monkeypox had been detected within the country. The virus originates in wild animals like rodents and primates and occasionally jumps to people, where it can be transmitted through close contact. Until recently, most human cases had been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.
But health officials in Portugal, Spain and the UK have all reported multiple cases recently, and people in the US and Italy have also been confirmed to be carrying the virus.
The Health Ministry said it had instructed medical staff to be on the lookout for symptoms of the disease, which can be fatal in up to 10 percent of cases, according to the World Health Organization.
Most patients only experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
The ministry urged anyone who returns from abroad and develops a fever along with lesions to seek medical attention.
There have been cases of the disease in Israel in the past, Channel 13 News reported.
The incubation period for monkeypox is from about five days to three weeks. Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized. The disease is thought to be more severe in children.
People exposed to the virus are often given one of several smallpox vaccines, which have been shown to be effective against monkeypox. Anti-viral drugs are also being developed.
On Thursday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended isolating all suspected cases and that high-risk contacts be offered the smallpox vaccine.
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