The Health Ministry on Monday announced three new cases of monkeypox, including the first confirmed instance of community spread in the country.
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The three cases were all among men from central Israel, aged between 30 and 60, according to a ministry statement. The statement did not give any further details.
There have been a total of nine cases in Israel, with the first case confirmed on May 20.
"The Health Ministry notes that anyone who develops a fever or blistering after returning from overseas or was in close contact with someone suspected of being sick with monkeypox should speak to a doctor," the Health Ministry statement said, according to The Times of Israel.
In a briefing last month, a top Israeli health official urged calm, saying the recent cases were not a significant risk to public health.
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According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox clears up after two to four weeks. The typical initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a blistery chickenpox-like rash.
In 2018, a case of monkeypox was diagnosed in Israel, with no known community infections resulting from it.
Monkeypox had been generally confined to western and central Africa until the past few months. Now it is present on several continents.
The WHO said it had removed the distinction between endemic and non-endemic countries in its data on monkeypox to unify the response to the virus better.
Between January 1 and June 15, 2,103 confirmed cases, one probable case, and one death had been reported to the WHO in 42 countries.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
