A World Health Organisation senior official says containing monkeypox in non-endemic countries is a priority and can be achieved through quick action.

Monkeypox, typically a mild viral infection, is endemic in African countries but its spread further has raised concerns.

So far, there are more than 200 confirmed or suspected case in around 20 countries where the virus was not previously circulating.

"We think if we put the right measures in place now we can contain it easily," Sylvie Briand, WHO director for Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness said at a briefing to member states.

She stressed there was a window of opportunity to prevent further spread, urging the general public not to be worry since transmission is much slower than other viruses such as the coronavirus.

"Case investigation, contact tracing, isolation at home will be your best bets," said Rosamund Lewis, WHO head of the smallpox secretariat which is part of the WHO Emergencies Program.

Meanwhile, the European Union has decided on common purchasing of a vaccine and antiviral drugs to fight monkeypox.

"After several meetings it has been decided that we will buy both vaccine and an antiviral treatment," Dagens Nyheter newspaper quoted Sweden's vaccine coordinator Richard Bergstrom as saying.

The paper said the EU would buy Bavarian Nordic's Imvanex and Tecovirimat from Siga Technologies in the United States.

Imvanex is a vaccine against smallpox, to which monkey pox is closely related.

It has US approval for the prevention of both smallpox and monkeypox. European Union approval is for smallpox, although doctors can prescribe it off-label for monkeypox.