Monkeypox will be listed as a statutory notifiable disease in Hong Kong next week, the government has said, along with a three-tier response plan targeting the infection.

Officials are also preparing to purchase vaccines and medicines for the infection, and are formulating recommendations on treatment.

The city has yet to record any case of monkeypox despite a growing spread of the disease globally. So far, at least 23 non-endemic countries have reported cases of the infection which used to occur primarily in central and western Africa.