The Ministry of Health (MoH) is reporting the first case of Monkeypox in New Zealand.

According to an MoH statement, the person is in their 30s, lives in Auckland, and recently returned after travelling to a country with reported cases of the disease.

The arrival in New Zealand was "not unexpected," they said, given that 50 countries have reported cases of Monkeypox.

"We have already taken steps to prepare for the arrival of Monkeypox.

READ MORE: Europe monkeypox triples, Africa outbreak declared emergency

"Last month Monkeypox was officially listed as a notifiable disease enabling us to utilise the tools needed to contain any possible spread of the disease including isolation orders and readying contact tracing capabilities.

"A Monkeypox PCR test is available in New Zealand labs and is what has been used to detect this first case."

Only a "very small number of people" are considered to be case contacts. They are being advised to watch for symptoms.

There is no evidence of community transmission here, MoH said.

Anyone who’s been overseas and attended events connected with the spread of Monkeypox is being asked to be aware of any symptoms and seek medical advice.

The first symptoms include headache, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and body aches, backache and tiredness.

The characteristic rash, which typically looks similar to chicken pox, appears after a few days.

The majority of people with Monkeypox can be safely managed at home and there have been very few deaths from Monkeypox globally.

MoH is asking health professionals to be on the lookout for possible cases, particularly in people who recently travelled abroad.

Overseas, on July 3, The World Health Organization's Europe chief warned that monkeypox cases in the continent tripled in the previous two weeks.

Dr Hans Kluge said in a statement that increased efforts were needed.

“Urgent and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease,” Kluge said.

More than 5,000 monkeypox cases have been recorded in 51 countries that don't normally report the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kluge said data reported to the WHO show that 99% of cases have been in men — the majority in men that have sex with men.

But he said there were now “small numbers” of cases among household contacts, including children.

Scientists warn anyone who is in close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox or their clothing or bedsheets is at risk of infection. Vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women are thought more likely to suffer severe disease.

He said the number of infections in Europe represents about 90% of the global total, with 31 countries having identified cases.

On June 30, US health officials expanded vaccine measures, promising to make 1 million doses of the vaccine Jynneos, available over the coming months.

In Australia, on May 20, NSW Health reported the county's first identified probable case of monkeypox.

The case was a person who recently returned to NSW from Europe.

"A man in his 40s developed a mild illness several days after arriving back in Sydney," NSW Health said in a media release.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health told 1News, at the time, that the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) has assessed the risk of importation to New Zealand to be low.

Two days later, on May 22, University of Otago biochemistry Professor Kurt Krause told 1News it's very unlikely New Zealand will see a big outbreak.

"I think it's really good people are paying attention but it's also important people calm down a little bit and wait till we get more data because it's highly unlikely that it's going to become a major outbreak."

He added that it's a very different virus to Covid-19, "by in large most of these kinds of outbreaks [monkeypox] are small and isolated and don't become a global pandemic."

"Generally speaking, the outbreaks are small, they affect 100-200 people and then they sort of go away," Krause said.

Until May, monkeypox had never been known to cause large outbreaks beyond parts of central and west Africa, where it's been sickening people for decades.

There have been about 1,800 suspected monkeypox cases in Africa, including more than 70 deaths.

But concerningly, recent monkeypox cases have been reported in African countries where it hasn’t previously been seen, including South Africa, Ghana and Morocco, according to WHO Africa director, Dr Moeti Matshidiso.

Oyewale Tomori, a virologist who formerly headed the Nigerian Academy of Science said he was "stunned" by the global outbreak.

"Every day I wake up and there are more countries infected.

“This is not the kind of spread we’ve seen in West Africa, so there may be something new happening."

Some Smallpox vaccines can provide protection against the virus.

The Ministry of Health said they are working with Pharmac to explore access to Smallpox vaccines that could be used for Monkeypox.