Confirmed monkeypox cases in Scotland have now risen to 18, health officials have confirmed.
An update from Public Health Scotland said this was the total of as of noon on Sunday.
It added that the majority of cases were amongst adults known to be gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and who also reported recent European travel.
Public Health Scotland said that so far "the majority of cases in the UK have been in men age 20 to 50."
It noted that the illness "appears to be generally mild and not life-threatening" with no reported deaths in the UK to date.
The strain of monkeypox which is now in 25 “non-endemic countries” is the one normally found in the Western Africa.
It is the less serious of the two known types but it still kills around 3.3% of patients who have been diagnosed with it.
Skin to skin or skin to mouth contact is still considered the most likely route of transmission.
However, concerning new evidence from Italy has found that it may also spread through the semen of men who have been infected.
Dr Catherine Smallwood, WHO Monkeypox Incident Manager said most at risk were young children, pregnant woman and immuno-suppressed people.
She previously noted: “As the virus continues to spread and affect different population groups we will likely see some severe cases.”
Read next
- WHO issue Monkeypox deaths warning in Europe
- Monkeypox cases in Scotland grow as officials list two reasons to contact doctors
- Two more Monkeypox cases reported in Scotland as UK total rises over 300
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