The Health Protection Surveillance Centre estimates that there are 85 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ireland (HPSC).
More than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide from 78 different countries, with the majority occurring in Europe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO.
On Saturday, the WHO labelled the outbreak a worldwide health emergency.
In May, the first case of the illness in Ireland was discovered in the east of the nation.
Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly stated that public health professionals are actively monitoring the situation and that additional vaccines have been acquired.
He said the advice he is getting is that “this is not Covid, this is very different”.
It is being handled seriously, although Minister Donnelly noted that “this is not in the range of infectious disease that we have been dealing with for some time.”
The smallpox vaccine will now be given to Irish citizens at high risk of exposure to monkeypox, according to a recent announcement.
The vaccine will be offered to gay and bisexual men, other men who have sex with men, as well as others at high risk of unprotected exposure.