The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a case of suspected monkeypox in Georgia — the 18th such case in the U.S. this year. It’s one of more than 550 cases seen across 30 countries detected around the globe this year. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said the virus has likely been spreading, undetected, for some time outside of West and Central Africa, where the disease has large animal reservoirs. This is WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan.

Dr. Michael Ryan: “There are thousands and thousands of cases of monkeypox every year in Africa, and there are deaths every year. And our concern now is real. We have a concern about this disease spreading in Europe. But I certainly didn’t hear that same level of concern over the last five or 10 years. So I think this is a lesson. These diseases will continue to emerge. They will continue to pressure. They will continue to cross the species barrier. The question is: Are we in a position to collectively respond? Are we in a position to share resources in order to stop onward transmission of these diseases within human communities?”