What is monkeypox and where is it spreading? Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia report first cases

European and American health authorities have identified a number of monkeypox cases in recent days, mostly in young men. It's a surprising outbreak of a disease that rarely appears outside Africa.

Health officials around the world are keeping watch for more cases because, for the first time, the disease appears to be spreading among people who didn’t travel to Africa. They stress, however, that the risk to the general population is low.
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1. Italy and Sweden report their first cases of monkeypox, joining a number of other European and north American nations that have detected the disease.
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2a. Suspected monkeypox cases in Canada spark public health concerns
2b. France Records First Suspected Monkeypox Case
2c. Australia’s first cases of monkeypox virus identified in NSW and Victoria
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*** Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health. Monkeypox primarily occurs in Central and West Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests and has been increasingly appearing in urban areas. Animal hosts include a range of rodents and non-human primates.
[WHO]