TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that it has raised its travel health notice to a Level 2 alert for 44 countries that pose a monkeypox community spread risk due to unknown infection sources.

In a press release published Thursday (June 30), the CDC wrote that out of the 55 countries that have reported monkeypox infections, 11 (Taiwan included) had only imported cases. The other 44 had local infections or infections with unknown origins.

The list consisted of 27 European countries, including the U.K., Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, Israel, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Romania, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Georgia, and Luxembourg; seven North and South American countries including the U.S., Canada, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina; eight African countries including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Republic of the Congo, South Africa; as well as the United Arab Emirates and Australia.

According to the CDC, as of Wednesday (June 29), at least 5,022 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide. It wrote that direct contact with a lesion or contaminated objects as well as droplets are major modes of transmission and advised Taiwanese against visiting high-risk areas in the countries listed above where chances of close contact with random people are increased.

Those who experience symptoms such as a fever, swollen lymph nodes, or rash after returning to Taiwan or contact with someone who recently returned from abroad should visit a hospital as soon as possible and inform the medical staff of the relevant travel or contact history. The CDC added that it will closely monitor the development of the disease’s spread internationally and adjust travel notices as needed.