A Belfast virologist has said awareness and support for people experiencing monkeypox symptoms is paramount to the control of the virus.
The first case of monkeypox was recorded in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
It's understood that a person is being treated in hospital here for the condition.
Read more: What is monkeypox? What are the symptoms? How is it spread?
There are now believed to be 79 cases of monkeypox in the UK.
In a statement on Monday, the Public Health Agency (PHA) said it is in regular contact with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regarding the situation.
The UKHSA will update the total number of monkeypox cases in the UK later on Thursday.
A multidisciplinary incident management team (IMT) has also been established here to ensure that we are fully prepared for any potential risk to the population of Northern Ireland.
Monkeypox is usually associated with travel to West Africa and is usually a self-limiting virus and spread by very close contact with someone who has been infected.
The current risk to the population in NI is considered to be low due to the fact the virus does not spread easily.
Initial symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. It often starts on someone's face before spreading to other parts of the body.
So how dangerous is Monkeypox to our health? We asked Dr Connor Bamford, from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University Belfast, some key questions.
What do we know so far about monkeypox and its origins?
The monkeypox virus, which causes monkeypox, can be dangerous and it’s thought that between 1% and 10% of cases will be fatal.
However, in most people it’s a relatively mild illness causing painful skin lesions and flu-like symptoms, that goes away after two weeks or so.
We know of two strains of the virus, which differ in how deadly they are and fortunately early evidence indicates we are now tackling the milder one (associated with a 1% case fatality rate) in the UK.
Are there any groups of people who are particularly susceptible?
As with most infections, different people are more susceptible to severe disease and monkeypox is no different.
We are most concerned about the younger population and those with underlying conditions, including pregnant people.
Fortunately, many older people if they’re over 60 or so will have been vaccinated against smallpox, which will provide some protection against monkeypox.
However, the vast majority of the population lacks significant immunity and immunity in vaccinated people may likely be waning.
In terms of the spread, is it the result of superspreader event/human behaviour and that has then travelled?
We really don’t know for sure but it does seem to be a bit of both.
The cases so far are in predominantly but non-exclusively in men who have sex with men (MSM) communities.
My understanding is that preliminary evidence suggests that the virus has been spreading in Europe for at least one month and is linked to a couple of large gatherings.
However, concerningly, we are seeing it spread to people with no travel history or direct links to the festival.
The scale in terms of numbers and countries affected is what makes this outbreak unusual.
Are you concerned about the spread of Monkeypox? Let us know in the comments section
What are the symptoms and how long roughly do they last?
Most people will have a mild disease course of about two weeks and may experience flu like symptoms (fever, aches and pains, headache), alongside swollen lymph nodes in your neck, grown or armpits, as well as the classic skin lesions.
These skin lesions can be fairly obvious and may be found on your hands, genitals and across your body.
There may even be only a single lesion and can look like a rash, blister or ulcer.
Because you can be infectious for quite sometime, it is recommended that if you experience these symptoms and think you could have monkeypox then you should isolate and contact appropriate authorities like your GP by phone.
Is it only a matter of time until it comes to NI and how likely is it to spread?
I would not be surprised if NI sees a couple of monkeypox cases in the next few days or weeks.
Awareness and support for people experiencing these symptoms is paramount to the control of this virus using public health measures.
Something good to add is that monkeypox is commonly found in West/Central Africa where it circulates in rodents like certain rat and squirrel species and it occasionally “jumps” there from rodents to humans and can transmit onwards.
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