Monkeypox has spread to both Spain and Portugal as health officials confirmed cases.
On Thursday, Portuguese authorities announced they had discovered five cases of the rare monkeypox infection.
And Spain's health services are testing 23 potential cases after Britain put Europe on alert for the virus.
The two countries sent out alerts to health professionals in order to identify more possible cases.
The five Portuguese cases, out of 20 suspected infections, are reported to be stable.
According to officials, all five patients are male who live in the region of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley.
Spain issued a warning that it had eight suspected cases under testing. Spanish health officials confirmed this figure rose to 23 by late afternoon. All cases remain unconfirmed.
Since the UK reported its first case of monkeypox earlier this month, European health authorities are continuing to monitor any outbreak of the disease.
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox, though milder, first recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s. The number of cases in West Africa has increased in the last decade.
Symptoms include fever, headaches and skin rashes starting on the face and spreading to the rest of the body.
According to the NHS, It is not particularly infectious between people, and most people infected recover within a few weeks, though severe cases have been reported.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), four of the UK cases self-identified as gay, bi-sexual or other men who have sex with men, adding evidence suggested there may be a transmission in the community.
The UKHSA urged men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay.
Earlier this month, we reported that links to the deadly disease were found in Scotland.
A PHS spokesman said: “Public Health Scotland is liaising with the UK Health Security Agency over the contact tracing of a small number of individuals related to the monkeypox case identified in England.
“This is a standard and precautionary exercise and the risk to the general public remains very low.”
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