A local infectious disease specialist in the province says the monkeypox virus that is grabbing headlines and spreading around the world is not a pandemic.

Dr. Rod Russell says monkeypox is not a new virus and there are countries in Africa that have had as many as a thousand cases a year in the last few years.

That said, according to Russell, it is new to many parts of the world and is now spreading to countries where it’s never been seen before and people have no immunity against it.

The symptoms are similar to chicken pox, and most of the cases in North America are among people under the age of 50 who would not have received the vaccine for smallpox, which is in the same family and appears to be effective in containing the spread of the illness.

Monkeypox is spread through close contact and through bodily secretions containing the virus. He says the greatest concern is for children who are especially vulnerable to the illness.

Typically the virus has a higher mortality rate among children.