HSE confirms second case of monkeypox in Ireland

A second case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Ireland by the HSE.

In a statement, the HSE said that the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) was notified of a second case of monkeypox in the country.

“This was not unexpected following the presence of monkeypox cases in the UK and many European countries,” the HSE said.

“For each case, Public Health is following up those who had close contact with the case while they were infectious. In order to maintain patient confidentiality, no further information about the cases will be provided.”

The HSE confirmed that public health risk assessments have been undertaken and that those who were in contact with the cases are currently being advised on what to do if they fall ill.

On Saturday, the first case of monkeypox was reported, with the HSPC first being notified of the case on Friday night.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Saturday: “The public health advice from the public health doctors I’m talking to are very much taking monkeypox within the stride of normal public health measures.

“The HSE, as you would expect, and public health have put in place the incident management team. They have isolation procedures, they have test and trace procedures in place.

“While it is quite a sobering name, monkeypox, the advice I have is that for the overwhelming number of people the symptoms are quite mild," Minister Donnelly said.