The number of mpox cases in Korea has increased by 10 since last Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 30.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), it confirmed four new cases  each on Friday and Saturday and two new cases on Sunday.

All 10 patients had no history of overseas travel within three weeks of symptom onset, suggesting they were infected domestically.

By region, six of the new cases came from Seoul, three from Gyeonggi Province, and one from North Gyeongsang Province.

Four cases were reported by healthcare providers, five contacted the KCDA call center, and one was confirmed after the suspected patient visited a health center in person.

All are being hospitalized in isolation and are reported to be in generally good condition, the KDCA said.

Mpox is an acute, febrile, rash illness caused by a viral infection. It is endemic in central and west Africa, but has spread to other parts of the world since May last year. Most cases resolve after two to four weeks, with a reported fatality rate of less than 1 percent.

Mpox is most commonly transmitted through sexual contacts, such as between men who have sex with men and through contact with skin lesions.

As Korea continues to confirm mpox cases, epidemic prevention authorities had previously decided to raise the crisis alert level from "concern" to "caution" and strengthen response measures last Wednesday.

A local doctor expected that mpox cases will continue to increase until July.

“I think the number of infections may increase for the next three months as countries that experienced large-scale epidemics before Korea saw their pandemic last up to six to seven months after confirming their first case,” said Professor Jung Jae-hun of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University in his Facebook page. “In terms of the scale of the epidemic, I think it is possible to have a situation where more than a few dozen people are confirmed with the virus.”

Jung also stressed that it is important to resolve social stigma toward mpox.

“Mpox is already a highly stigmatized disease because its mode of transmission and most cases tend to be concentrated in certain groups (men who have sex with other men),” Jung said. “However, this stigma makes epidemiologic investigation and follow-up almost impossible, especially in our culture.”

However, if such a stigma delays the detection of infected people, it will become a society’s problem, he added.