The Health Service Executive is to consider the case for a vaccination programme for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, following the emergence of a new variant of the virus in Africa.
The move comes after World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported “an unprecedented recent increase in the number of mpox cases identified in Africa”. The WHO has declared that this trend represents “a public health emergency of international concern”.
There have been just under 250 cases of mpox in Ireland since it was first recorded on May 31st, 2022. The first case of this year in Ireland was recorded in February, with four cases reported since then. The HSE said the cases seen in Ireland this year had been caused by clade II mpox, the type that caused the global outbreak in 2022, which mainly affected men who have sex with other men.
There has not been an increase in the numbers of such cases in the State, the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre said. “The type of mpox that is causing concern in Africa is caused by a different clade, clade Ib. No cases of clade Ib mpox have been detected in Ireland,” it said.
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Swedish authorities on Thursday announced that a case of the clade Ib mpox had been detected.
[ WHO confirms first case of ‘grave’ mpox strain outside of Africa in SwedenOpens in new window ]
The HSE said Ireland was working with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and international partners to “assess the situation and to determine if any additional measures are needed beyond existing guidance that is available”.
Mpox is an uncommon disease that is caused by infection with a virus that is found in some animal populations in remote parts of central and west Africa and has in the past has caused occasional limited outbreaks in local communities and among travellers. Since December 2022, a large outbreak of mpox has been ongoing in the Democratic Republic of Congo and cases have been seen in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda in recent weeks.
It spreads through close contact, including contact with the skin rash of someone who has been infected. Sexual partners and household members of those with the virus, as well as healthcare workers, are deemed to be at higher risk of infection.
The risk of spread within the community in general is very low, said the HSE, which added that it would “consider the need for a new vaccine programme” following the WHO’s declaration.
The HSE is to seek advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and will also be informed by a risk assessment being prepared by the ECDC.
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