The latest figures from Public Health Ontario reveal 21 cases of monkeypox in Ottawa.
Ontario health officials say there are now 288 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province, with 76 percent of all cases in Toronto.
Public Health Ontario says 132 new cases have been confirmed in the past seven days — including 58 since the last update on Tuesday alone — and there are nine probable cases, including two in women.
Last week, the provincial health agency confirmed its first case of the virus in a woman.
The majority of confirmed cases were in men between the ages of 30 and 39, while there were two cases in men under the age of 20.
“Although cases have been identified primarily among men who report sexual or intimate contact with other men, anyone can get monkeypox,” says Public Health Ontario. “Various factors that may increase the potential risk of exposure include close, sexual, and/or other intimate contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash, sore, or scab.”
The virus usually does not spread easily and is transmitted by prolonged close contact through respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.
Symptoms include high fever, body aches, chills, fatigue, and bumps on body parts.
Health officials say nine of the confirmed cases have been hospitalized, with two requiring admission to intensive care.
Although the disease is relatively mild in many men, people can be contagious for weeks and the lesions can be extremely painful.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has recorded more than 600 cases of monkeypox, or MPXV, as it’s known in the scientific community, since the first report in early June.
Ontario’s chief health officer recently said monkeypox is likely to be around for “many months” because of its long incubation period, but noted that Ontario is not seeing rapid growth of the virus.
Public Health Ontario reported 21 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ottawa, while the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Units each reported one case of monkeypox. Renfrew County Health has no confirmed cases of monkeypox.
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) offers monkeypox vaccines.
The clinic locations are:
- Centretown Community Health Centre, 420 Cooper Street Ottawa
- Dates and opening hours of the clinic:
- Thursday 21 July 2022 from 13:00 to 16:00
- Friday, July 22, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Monday, July 25, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m
- Wednesday, July 27, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m
- Thursday, July 28, 2022 from 1 to 4 p.m
- Friday, July 29, 2022 from 1 to 3 p.m
- Dates and opening hours of the clinic:
- OPH Sexual Health Clinic, 179 Clarence Street
- Dates and opening hours of the clinic:
- July 20, Wednesday, from 1 to 4 p.m
- Friday, July 22 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Wednesday, July 27, 2022 from 1 to 4 p.m
- Friday, July 29, 2022 from 1 to 4 p.m
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022 from 1 to 4 p.m
- Friday, August 5, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m
- Dates and opening hours of the clinic:
More information can be found here.
Monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in fighting the monkeypox virus.
With files from CityNews Ottawa.
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