80 cases have been confirmed across 11 countries.
The World Health Organisation's warning of a further rise in Monkeypox cases.
It says 80 have now been confirmed across 11 countries, with a further 50 being investigated in Europe.
The infection was first identified in monkeys and up to now had rarely spread outside Africa.
Infectious diseases expert, Professor Samuel McConkey, believes it's only a matter of time before it appears here.
"Transmission of Monkeypox happening in unknown networks in the UK, and we've a lot of connection back and forth there. So I think it's likely, it's certainly more than possible that we'll have some cases in Ireland," McConkey said.
"At present all our health sector, our GPs and hospitals really need to start preparing for recognising and isolating a case," he continued.
Symptoms:
According to the WHO, Monkeypox symptoms include fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.
The symptoms last from 2 to 4 weeks and they say, in recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3-6%.
Combatting it:
Vaccines used during the smallpox eradication programme also provided protection against monkeypox.
The WHO says that newer vaccines have been developed of which one has been approved for the prevention of monkeypox.
And an antiviral agent developed for the treatment of smallpox has also been licensed for the treatment of monkeypox.
