South Korea has reported its first suspected cases of monkeypox amid global concerns that the virus may become the next epidemic.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Wednesday that it received reports the previous day of two people suspected to have contracted monkeypox and is conducting related tests on the suspected cases.

One of the two patients, whose identities are not being made public, was transported to an isolation ward at Incheon Medical Center at around 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday for medical examinations, according to the Incheon-based hospital.

The person reportedly displayed symptoms while entering the country via Incheon International Airport.

Earlier this month, South Korea designated monkeypox as a Class Two contagious disease, making the virus subject to compulsory reporting and quarantine.

Since the first monkeypox case in non-endemic countries was reported in Britain on May 7, 42 countries have reported around 21-hundred cases as of June 15. Only 64, or three percent of the cases, were reported in Africa, where all endemic countries are located.