The first monkeypox case has been reported on the island of Ireland.
The Public Health Agency (PHA) confirmed that a case of the virus has been identified in Northern Ireland.
Dr Gillian Armstrong, head of health protection at the PHA, said: “Following the detection of cases of monkeypox in England the PHA has been in regular contact with UKHSA regarding the situation and we established a local multidisciplinary incident management team (IMT) to ensure that we are fully prepared for any potential risk to the population of Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: First case of monkeypox confirmed in NI
“The PHA has been working closely with trusts and GPs to raise awareness of the disease, and set up testing arrangements and clinical pathways.
“Cases of monkeypox are rare as the virus does not spread easily between people; therefore the risk to the Northern Ireland population is considered low.
“Appropriate public health actions are being taken and the PHA is working with UKHSA to investigate any potential links with UK cases and we will contact any potential close contacts to provide health information and advice.”
Health officials in Northern Ireland are expected to hold a briefing later on Thursday.
But how dangerous is Monkeypox to our health? Our sister site Belfast Live spoke to Dr Connor Bamford, from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University Belfast.
Below he answered some key questions about monkeypox.
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.
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 some time, 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.
