GENEVA, July 27 (CGTN) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that there are more 18,000 cases of monkeypox reported globally from 78 countries, with the majority in Europe.

So far, five deaths have been reported, and about 10 percent of cases are admitted to hospital to manage the pain caused by the disease.

WHO on Wednesday recommends targeted vaccination for those exposed to someone with monkeypox, and for those at high risk of exposure.

"At this time, we do not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox," WHO noted.

"WHO is developing a research framework that countries can use to generate the data we need to better understand how effective these vaccines are in preventing both infection and disease, and how to use them most effectively," WHO said.

Monkeypox has been a globally neglected public health problem in parts of Africa for decades, but cases began to be reported outside countries where it is endemic in May.

It generally causes mild to moderate symptoms, including fever, fatigue and painful skin lesions that resolve within a few weeks.