A third case of monkeypox has been confirmed in New Zealand.
The infected person had recently returned from overseas, the Ministry of Health said today.
"There is no evidence of community transmission from this case."
The person was isolating in the South Island, the ministry said.
"Public health staff have assessed the risk of transmission from this case as low.
"A test has returned a positive result and ESR is currently validating that result. This process is expected to be completed tomorrow afternoon."
Ministry public health advice for those with monkeypox is to isolate at home until the scabs from lesions have fallen off.
Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, which causes smallpox.
Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.
Today's case is the third reported in New Zealand.
On July 11 health authorities reported the second case.
Since a cluster of the rare viral disease was confirmed in the UK in May, the outbreak has grown to more than 8000 cases and spread to 57 countries as far-flung as Venezuela, Iceland, Latvia and South Korea.
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals such as rodents and primates and sometimes jumps to people - mostly in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.
Scientists identified the disease in 1958 after two outbreaks of a "pox-like" disease in research monkeys. The first known human infection was in 1970, in a 9-year-old boy in Congo.
Monkeypox belongs to the same virus family as smallpox but it has milder symptoms.
The Ministry of Health has said some smallpox vaccines can provide protection against the virus.
The ministry is working with Pharmac to explore options for access to smallpox vaccines that can be used as part of the targeted prevention of the spread of monkeypox in certain situations. Anti-viral drugs are also being developed.
The first symptoms of monkeypox include headache, acute onset of fever greater than 38C, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and body aches, backache and tiredness. The characteristic rash, which typically looks similar to chickenpox, appears after a few days.
"Anyone with lesions that look like chickenpox who have been in contact with a case or have been to Africa should be wary," Baker said.
Monkeypox can be fatal for up to one in 10 people and is thought to be more severe in children.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said incubation - from infection to symptoms - usually lasted one week to a fortnight but could be as short as five days and as long as three weeks.
But most people recover within about two to four weeks without being hospitalised.
Belgium has introduced a compulsory three-week quarantine for anyone infected with monkeypox.
"We certainly have to be prepared for the scenario because it has been in other Western countries," associate health minister Ayesha Verrall said of New Zealand's response.
University of Canterbury Associate Professor of Epidemiology Arindam Basu believed protection measures will be necessary in New Zealand, as over the next few weeks more monkeypox cases will likely emerge.
"Monkeypox and Covid-19 are different diseases and spread through somewhat different pathways, but at a personal level, personal hygiene measures and protection with masks are super important for both diseases, especially as Covid-19 cases will continue to rise," Basu said.
"Being watchful about contacts, keeping a diary, and getting the tests at the first instances of common cold-like symptoms may be helpful."
The ministry has also provided advice to public health units, primary health organisations and sexual health clinics to assist with identifying potential cases.
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