A senator has written to health minister Stephen Donnelly calling for a special monkeypox taskforce to be convened as cases reported continue to rise.
The number of cases in Ireland are set to pass the 100 case landmark in the coming days if they haven’t already - they hit 97 on July 31 - and Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer has expressed his concerns and called for early action to stop further spread of the disease.
Mr Buttimer said: “In the coming days, monkeypox cases in Ireland will likely have risen past 100.
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“As cases slowly climb, it is crucial that we are preventative in our actions.
“I welcome the Minister’s review of the NIAC advice in relation to vaccination and I also welcome the HSE’s engagement to date with the various relevant groups in order to protect those most vulnerable to the virus.
“I have written to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Minister of State Frank Feighan, proposing that we take this engagement further by convening a meeting of the HSE, NIAC, public health officials, sexual health workers and all relevant health groups, to put in place a robust strategy.
“We must also now consider how we can increase our medium to long-term supply of vaccines.
Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the multi-country outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) - the highest level of alert that the WHO can confer.
As part of Ireland’s response to the disease, the HSE established a multidisciplinary incident management team who commenced activities to prepare for cases in Ireland.
The HPSC said that public health teams are following up those who had close contact with cases while they were infectious, with public health risk assessments undertaken with close contacts who are being advised on what to do in the event that they become ill.
Monkeypox is an uncommon 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 cases being reported across multiple countries currently are unusual because most of the cases do not have a link to travel to these parts of Africa.
There are two types of monkeypox: West African monkeypox and Congo Basin monkeypox, with the milder, West African type 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.
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