A fresh health warning has been issued to Britons travelling to parts of Mozambique following an outbreak of the monkeypox virus in the African nation.
Niassa province Governor, Elina Massengele said number of cases has risen to "five".
"We were already at three, but it's rising, and there are still many people being tested with suspected cases of the disease," she said.
Massengele added that everyone must be careful as it is "easily transmissible".
Mozambique health authorities confirmed the first three cases of mpox last week, saying the patients were "clinically stable and are in home isolation".
They emerged on the Lago district, bordering Tanzania.
The rise in cases has seen the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) add mpox to the list of health risks on the UK Government website.
The FCDO has already advised against all travels to parts of Mozambique unless essential, however, if one is travelling they have been advised to get vaccinations for malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis and mpox at least eight weeks before the trip.
GETTY | Common symptoms of Mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesionsThe Government has advised those travelling that "hospital facilities are of a lower standard compared to the UK, especially in the north of the country".
"In cases of serious illness or injury, medical evacuation to South Africa or the UK may be necessary," the UK Government said.
A Ministry of Health source confirmed these were the first cases in Mozambique in the current outbreak, Lusa reports.
It noted that from January 1 to July 8 this year, there had been 77,458 cases of the disease across 22 countries with 501 deaths.
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|A laboratory nurse inspects a child with mpox
A technical team has been set up through Mozambique's National Directorate of Public Health and National Institute of Health which "mobilised a technical team to support the affected province and district".
In the previous outbreak, the first cases were recorded in 2022 in Maputo.
Mpox is a zoonotic viral disease which was first identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
The World Health Organisation declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for the second time in August last year.
The number of cases, deaths and geographic spread was the reason for the declaration.
It comes after the FCDO had advised against all travel to the following districts in the Cabo Delgado Province "due to attacks by groups with links to Islamist extremism".
"The advice covers the districts of: Chiure, Mueda, Palma - except Palma town, where FCDO advises against all but essential travel - Mocimboa da Praia, Muidumbe, Meluco, Macomia, Quissanga (and) Ibo - including the islands off the coast," FCDO states on the UK Government website.
The warning also includes the Niassa Province due to Islamist extremism.
"If you choose to travel, research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance," the website states.
"Insurance should cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency."