THE DEPARTMENT OF Health has announced plans to expand use of the smallpox vaccine to protect against monkeypox.

It follows recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) that those at high risk of infection be inoculated.

NIAC has recommended that those at high risk be offered the pre-exposure prophylactic (PReP) vaccination should be offered to those at high risk of infection, as well as two doses of smallpox vaccine, administered 28 days apart, “as soon as practicable”.

69 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed here since the beginning of this global outbreak in May of this year.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said today: “I welcome these recommendations which represent an important step in our ongoing response to the monkeypox outbreak and help protect those at high risk of exposure to monkeypox.”

“Monkeypox is usually a self-limiting illness, and most people recover within a few weeks, however the rapid spread of infection necessitates further measures beyond those currently in place. The evidence suggests this approach to targeted pre-exposure prophylaxis may be highly efficient in controlling further spread of the disease.

“The Department of Health and the HSE will now work to implement these new recommendations in relation to vaccination.”

Interim CMO, Professor Breda Smyth said: “These recommendations reflect a strengthening of measures to control disease transmission and ensures that our response to this evolving situation is informed by the best available evidence.

“I strongly encourage those with symptoms of infection to seek medical advice and follow the public health guidance.”

For the last number of weeks, vaccinations have only been offered to high or intermediate risk contacts of monkeypox cases following contact tracing by public health teams.

HIV Ireland has urged the government to meet “head on” the challenges posed by rising levels of monkeypox in Ireland.

Speaking ahead of a community meeting for gay and bisexual men tomorrow, Adam Shanley, HIV Ireland’s MPOWER Programme Manager who is leading out on the organisation’s monkeypox response, said: “We have done a lot of heavy lifting informing gay and bisexual men about monkeypox, however there are tools known to be effective in preventing onward transmission that we don’t yet have access to.

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“As gay and bisexual men, we have a long history and strong legacy of banding together in times of adversity, and our community discussion is an example of that – we are mobilising our peers in the face of this new challenge.

“We have an opportunity to contain the spread of monkeypox, but it requires an immediate coordinated vaccination programme that prioritises those in our community most at risk of acquiring the virus.”

Prof Paddy Mallon, a HIV Ireland board member and consultant in infectious diseases at St Vincent’s University Hospital, said:

“That the WHO has now designated monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern underlines the seriousness with which this current widespread outbreak should be viewed.”

“In Ireland, key priorities must include increasing awareness within the community in general about the signs and symptoms of monkeypox, accurate information on how it can be transmitted, and expanding access to testing and increasing availability of vaccination, which remain key components to the control and hopefully eradication of this infection,” he added.