Geneva - (AFP) - The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that the number of monkeypox cases in the world has exceeded 70,000, and warned that the decline in new cases does not mean abandoning caution.

The World Health Organization said case numbers last week were rising in many countries in the Americas, stressing that a slowdown in new cases appearing around the world could be the "most dangerous" period of the outbreak.

WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 70,000 cases had been reported, with 26 deaths.

"Globally, cases continue to decline, but last week 21 countries reported an increase in cases, most of them in the Americas and accounting for nearly 90% of all cases reported last week," he told a press conference in Geneva.

"A declining outbreak could be the most dangerous because it could lead us to believe that the crisis is over, and make us let our guard down," he added.

He said the WHO is working with countries to increase their testing capacity and monitor trends.

"We are concerned about reports of cases in Sudan, including in refugee camps near the border with Ethiopia," Tedros added.

"As with COVID-19, monkeypox remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and WHO will continue to treat it as such," he said.

An increase in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May among men who have sex with men, outside African countries where the disease has long been endemic.

More than 42,000 cases have been reported in the Americas and nearly 25,000 in Europe.

Cases have been reported from 107 WHO member countries this year, while 39 countries have not registered any new cases for 21 days.

The ten countries with the highest number of cases are: the United States (26,723); Brazil (8,147); Spain (7209); France (4043); Britain (3,654); Germany (3,640); Peru (2,587); Colombia (2,453); Mexico (1968) and Canada (1400).

These countries account for about 87% of global cases.

As the data revealed, 97% of the infected were men with an average age of 35; 90% are gay men; And 49% are infected with HIV (HIV), according to WHO case information.

The disease causes fever, muscle aches, and large skin sores.