Spain has reported 14 more cases of monkeypox today, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 21, regional health authorties in Madrid said.

UK healthcare workers have been offered the smallpox vaccine as monkeypox cases spread further across the globe.

While there is no specific vaccine for the disease, a smallpox jab does offer some protection, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Data shows vaccines that were used to eradicate smallpox are up to 85 per cent effective against monkeypox, according to the World Health Organisation.

A UKHSA spokesperson said “those who have required the vaccine have been offered it”, without disclosing specifics on how many people have been vaccinated so far.

Some countries have large stockpiles of the smallpox vaccine as part of pandemic preparedness, including the United States.

A number of countries have reported their first cases of monkeypox since yesterday, including Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.

Australia today reported its first monkeypox case in a traveller who recently returned from Britain, while a probable case of infection was identified with testing being carried out to confirm it.

A man in his 30s who arrived in Melbourne on Monday has the virus, Victoria state’s health department said, while the probable case was identified in Sydney in a man in his 40s who had recently travelled to Europe.

Both men developed mild illness after arriving back in Australia with symptoms clinically compatible with monkeypox, health officials said.

Canada’s public health agency on Thursday confirmed the first two cases of monkeypox infections in the country after authorities in Quebec province said they were investigating 17 suspected cases.

Belgian health experts are due to meet today after the country detected its first two cases.

The cases were diagnosed in different cities, though Flemish broadcaster VRTNWS said both patients had attended the same party in an undisclosed location.

French health authorities today confirmed a first case of monkeypox virus in the Paris region, several French media outlets reported, one day after news of a first suspected case emerged.

Italy diagnosed its first case of the monkeypox infection at the Spallanzani hospital in Rome, the hospital said on Thursday, adding that the person, who arrived from a stay on the Canary Islands, was being kept in isolation.

The hospital added there were two other suspected cases that had yet to be confirmed.

Health authorities in Portugal identified nine new cases of the viral infection, taking the total to 14, while in Spain authorities on Thursday reported its first seven cases.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s monkeypox live blog.

We’ll bring you all the latest updates as the disease continues to spread across the globe.