The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning gay and bisexual men they face an elevated risk of contracting monkeypox, after public health officials identified four suspected cases of the viral disease in the U.S. Monkeypox is endemic to Central and West Africa and is most often spread from animals to humans. It can cause rashes and painful lesions on the body that, left untreated, can sometimes be fatal. The World Health Organization has recently identified 200 confirmed and suspected cases across a dozen countries. WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said Monday the monkeypox outbreak appears to be linked to sexual activity among men.

Maria Van Kerkhove: “The transmission is really happening from close physical contact, skin-to-skin contact. So it’s quite different than COVID in that sense. … And the thing I just want to say here is that this is a containable situation, particularly in the countries like where we are seeing these outbreaks that are happening across Europe, in North America, as well.”