The World Health Organization (WHO) will convene a group of leading experts in an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing monkeypox outbreak, The Telegraph reported on Friday.

According to the report, the main topics of the meeting will be around how the virus is being spread, the unusually high prevalence in gay and bisexual men, and the situation surrounding vaccination.

Sixty confirmed and 74 suspected cases have been reported so far by health authorities in the world.

Since the beginning of 2022, monkeypox cases have been found in 11 countries, including Portugal, UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Australia, France, the United States, Sweden and Germany. 

Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.

The World Health Organization estimates there are thousands of monkeypox infections in about a dozen African countries every year.

Isolated cases of monkeypox are occasionally spotted outside Africa, including in the U.S. and Britain. The cases are typically associated with travel to Africa or contact with animals from areas where the disease is more common.

The incubation period is from about five days to three weeks. Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized. Monkeypox can be fatal for up to one in 10 people and is thought to be more severe in children.

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Explainer: What is monkeypox and where is it spreading?