Monkeypox has arrived in Europe, with five gay or bisexual men in Portugal testing positive, and Spain investigating eight suspected cases in men.

Monkeypox has now been discovered in Portugal and Spain, possibly marking the first global outbreak of the disease.

Spain is keeping an eye on eight men it believes are infected, and tests are being conducted to confirm the virus.

According to local media, all of the men are gay or bisexual, and the majority were discovered at sexual health clinics in Madrid. However, it is unclear how they contracted the virus.

Five men in Portugal have tested positive, and more than a dozen more are being investigated, according to health officials.

Experts are concerned that it is spreading rapidly, as seven Britons have been diagnosed in the last two weeks.

Six of them appear to have been infected in the United Kingdom, and the majority are unrelated, implying that more cases are going unnoticed.

The pattern of transmission, according to officials, is 'highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks.'

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline that he believes the number of cases in the UK is already "in the tens." But, unlike Covid, he believes the disease will not spread, saying, 'I would be surprised if we ever got to more than 100 cases [in Britain]'.

Following the announcement of eight suspected cases in Madrid, regions throughout Spain have been placed on high alert.

According to Fernando Simón, the country's top public health doctor, "it is unlikely that monkeypox will generate a significant transmission, but it cannot be ruled out."

According to the report, the majority of the cases were discovered at the Sandoval Health Centre in the capital, which serves as a STI clinic.

According to the Spanish broadcaster RTVE, all eight of the patients were homosexual men.

The men are said to be'stable,' with all of them suffering from 'ulcerative lesions,' one of the virus's tell-tale symptoms.

The Portuguese Ministry of Health has issued a warning, urging people with lesions and rashes to see a doctor.

When these symptoms appear, officials advise avoiding "direct physical contact."

Health officials investigating the monkeypox outbreak in the United Kingdom believe the virus is spreading sexually for the first time.