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The first case of monkeypox in the Republic of Ireland has been confirmed, the HSE has announced.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) was notified on Saturday night of a case in the east of the country.
This person has not been hospitalised, and the HSE said their public health team is following up with the person’s close contacts.
“In order to maintain patient confidentiality, no further information about this person will be provided,” they said.
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Another suspected case is also being investigated, with test results pending, according to the HSE.
A public health risk assessment has been undertaken, and those who were in contact with this person are being advised on what to do if they become ill.
A multidisciplinary Incident Management Team (IMT) was established by the HSE when the international alert was first raised. This IMT will continue to actively monitor the situation, with monkeypox being made a notifiable disease. This means that medical practitioners and laboratories are required to notify the local Medical Officer of Health or the Director of Public Health of any monkeypox cases they discover.
The HSE added that this was not an unexpected development, as over two hundred confirmed cases of monkeypox have been detected worldwide in recent weeks, including one case recently reported in Northern Ireland.
Several European countries, North America, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Australia have reported cases of the virus.
The HSE said the vast majority of these cases do not have a travel link to a country where monkeypox is endemic. Many of the cases were diagnosed in sexual health clinics among people who self-identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men. The HSE said this may be due to the positive health seeking behaviour in this community, and an increased awareness of the virus.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said a vaccine for the virus has been sourced by the HSE and is on its way into the State.
Speaking to reporters on the fringes of the Irish Medical Organisation’s annual general meeting at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, he said there was no cause for alarm.
“The HSE has secured what they are calling third generation smallpox vaccine,” he said. “It is coming into the country.
“We asked the National Immunisation Advisory Committee for advice on it, and their advice is to offer it to healthcare workers who might be providing care to patients and identified cases and to higher risk close contacts.”
As to whether the State has enough of the vaccine, he said: “I have no advice from the HSE that we don’t have enough of the vaccine.”
He said the advice from public health doctors he has been speaking to was that they “are very much taking the monkey pox within the stride of normal public health measures”.
About monkeypox
Monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with monkeypox virus. The virus is found in some animal populations in remote parts of Central and West Africa, and in the past has caused occasional limited outbreaks in local communities and travellers.
The current cases being reported across multiple countries are unusual because most of the cases do not have a link to travel in these parts of Africa.
There are two types of monkeypox: West African monkeypox and Congo Basin monkeypox. It is the milder, West African type that is causing the current outbreak.
Monkeypox spreads through close contact, including contact with the skin rash of someone with monkeypox. People who closely interact with someone who is infectious are at greater risk for infection: this includes household members, sexual partners and healthcare workers. The risk of spread within the community in general is very low, the HSE said.
Symptoms of monkeypox
Symptoms of monkeypox virus infection include: itchy rash, fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
The rash starts as raised red spots that quickly change into little blisters. It usually develops within one to three days from the start of the fever or other symptoms, but some people may only have a rash.
Sometimes the rash first appears on the face and spreads to the mouth, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. However, following sexual contact, the rash may be found initially in the anogenital areas.
In the recent cases seen internationally, systemic symptoms have not always been a feature, and rash in the anogenital area may be the main symptom.
The rash goes through different stages before finally forming scabs which later fall off.
Treatment
There is no medicine that can cure monkeypox, but it is usually a self-limiting illness and most people recover within weeks. However, severe illness can occur in people with very weak immune systems, pregnant women and in very small babies.
Treatment of monkeypox includes managing any pain or itch that occurs, keeping the patient warm, comfortable and relaxed, and making sure they get plenty of fluids. This allows the patient’s own body defences to fight the infection.