Sharjah24 - Reuters: Cases of monkeypox in Italy have risen to 71, the director general of the country's health ministry Giovanni Rezza said on Friday.

In its previous update on June 9, the Italian health ministry said it had detected 29 cases.

More than 30 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease as confirmed cases approach 1,900, most of them in Europe.

Monkeypox, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in West and Central Africa and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere.