Ten southern localities of Vietnam have reported 117 monkey pox cases, including six deaths, according to the Institute Pasteur in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.

The institute said the number of infections has increased sharply since November and kept rising.

Dr Huynh Thi Thuy Hoa from Ho Chi Minh City's Hospital for Tropical Diseases said that among 49 cases admitted to the hospital over the past three months, there were six deaths, adding that 40 cases have recovered and three are being treated.

In October, Vietnam recorded its first death from monkey pox, who was a 29-year-old man from Long An Province in southern Vietnam.

(With UNI inputs)