28 cases of monkey pox have been confirmed in Ireland

DUBLIN: There have been 28 confirmed cases of monkey pox in Ireland so far, with 14 cases detected last week alone. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre stated that all the infected people are men and the majority are aged between 25 and 44.

The HPSC said these cases are not unexpected considering the presence of monkey pox cases in the UK and many European countries. HSE Public Health is following up with those who had close contact with a case while they were infectious.

Most patients are in Western Europe

Monkeypox cases have been reported outside West and Central African countries since May. Most of the cases detected are in Western Europe. The WHO’s Europe office and the EU health agency ECDC said that 2,746 cases have been recorded in Europe alone.

Some 84%of the cases have been found in Europe, with the most cases being reported from Britain, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Canada and France.