Monkeypox and Covid 19: How do the two viruses compare?

An epidemiologist says it is "highly unlikely" a monkeypox outbreak would be "anything like" the recent Omicron outbreak.

Dr Arindam Basu's comments come as the Ministry of Health says monkeypox is now a "global outbreak", with 131 cases confirmed in 19 countries outside where monkeypox is endemic. Two monkeypox cases have been confirmed in Australia.

A Ministry of Health clinical update on Wednesday said monkeypox was a zoonotic virus, where transmission occurred from animals to humans, and was endemic in parts of Central and West Africa.

There were no suspected or confirmed cases of Monkeypox in New Zealand and there was a "low to moderate" public health risk to New Zealand. The risk of importation of monkeypox was moderate, the update said.

University of Canterbury Associate Professor of epidemiology Dr Arindam Basu. Photo / Supplied

University of Canterbury Associate Professor of epidemiology Dr Arindam Basu said it was "unlikely" New Zealand would expect a large outbreak of monkeypox given it was "slow to spread" between humans, and the availability of vaccines and antivirals.

When asked how a monkeypox outbreak would compare to the recent Omicron outbreak, Basu said the two viruses were "not really comparable" in terms of severity and rapidity of spread.

"Omicron is a variant of Covid-19 that has spread very rapidly, even in the face of vaccination, and its emergence was novel."

Whereas monkeypox had been known to spread for some time in Africa and its emergence in non-endemic countries has been recent, he said.

While New Zealand needed to be "alert" about the possibility of the spread of the disease, the number of cases expected would "likely" be low and contained within a specific age range of 20 to 50, he said.

Basu said monkeypox was a DNA virus, whereas Covid was an RNA virus.

"Hence it [monkeypox] is not known to mutate fast, so it is unlikely new strains will emerge rapidly.

"While we can justifiably be cautious, it is highly unlikely that we will experience anything like Covid-19 Omicron situation."

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Pete Chandler. Photo / George Novak

At a board meeting on Wednesday, Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Pete Chandler said he suspected monkeypox "probably will just pass".

He said the Public Health unit had said there was no reason this should "surge into some new big thing".

"But it's interesting that the public reaction to seeing this come on the scene has been quite notable and just shows you the kind of climate that we're in of sensitivity.

"We've been watching this over the last couple of weeks based on the international news ... it is interesting the way it's tracked from a disease that's normally only seen in Africa."

Chandler said monkeypox was a member of the smallpox family. He noted in the United Kingdom that frontline healthcare workers working in environments where they might be exposed were being encouraged to get "effectively the equivalent of a smallpox vaccination".

Lakes District Health Board chief operating officer Alan Wilson. Photo / Andrew Warner

Lakes District Health Board chief operating officer Alan Wilson said the board would take advice from the Ministry of Health and the Public Health unit regarding any required preparations as the situation evolved nationally or internationally.

Toi Te Ora Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr Phil Shoemack said monkeypox did not easily spread between people.

"It is only spread through intimate person-to-person contact and is very rarely seen outside of Africa."

The Ministry of Health clinical update said if there were any monkeypox cases in New Zealand, the likelihood of widespread community transmission was "very low".

The level of risk was being reviewed regularly as new information emerged internationally.

While it was rare, monkeypox virus could be transmitted person-to-person by close contact with skin lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

First symptoms of monkeypox included fever, intense fatigue, headache, muscle ache, backache and lymphadenopathy.

The Ministry of Health was exploring options for access to smallpox vaccines that could be considered for "targeted prevention" of monkeypox. The ministry had established an incident management team and would continue to monitor the situation and establish an outbreak response if one or more cases were identified.