There are currently 110 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, including at least nine in Ontario, according to Health Canada.
As of June 9, at least 23 other cases had been investigated in Toronto, and the public health department in the Halton area confirmed its first case, while there were no confirmed cases in Hamilton, Hamilton’s public health services said.
Karen Mosman, a virologist and professor of pathology and molecular medicine at McMaster University, said the silver lining in a potential outbreak of monkeypox could be the lessons we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said COVID-19 has raised awareness of how we should proceed in the event of an outbreak.
“Many common practices introduced during COVID will help reduce monkeypox infection,” she wrote in an email to CBC Hamilton.
We hope that COVID normalizes the wearing of masks, new working conditions (and related technologies), better ventilation systems, etc.
Karen Mosman is a virologist and professor of pathology and molecular medicine at McMaster University. (Submitted by Karen Mosman)
But she also warns that concerns about an increase in local cases are justified.
This concern may be related to few people who are immune to monkeypox, Dr. Mosman explained.
“While the smallpox vaccine is thought to provide protection, the smallpox vaccination was completed around 1970, when the virus was effectively eradicated and those vaccinated are likely to have limited remaining immunity,” she said.
Fortunately, she said monkeypox did not spread as fast as SARS-CoV-2 and did not mutate as fast as coronaviruses.
“Monkeypox is spread through bites or scratches from an infected animal, or through direct contact with wounds or body fluids from infected people (for example during sex) or contaminated clothing, bedding, etc.,” she said.
Doctors need to be better at communicating with the public, the expert said
Mosman says there are also lessons to be learned from COVID-19 on how doctors communicate with the public.
“I think there has to be a balance between transparency and awareness, and the reality is based on the best available data and knowledge. “The public has a right to know what viruses are circulating and could potentially cause a new epidemic,” she said.
“It’s a challenge here because we often don’t know what we don’t know, and when we gather more information, those messages change. We absolutely experienced this during COVID – in the beginning there were many that we did not know, but we made assumptions (or best assumptions) based on how similar SARS-CoV-2 was to SARS-CoV and our experience with the 2003 pandemic
Mosman says the general public needs to have more information to assess the risk when it comes to outbreaks.
Using the saying “trust me, I am a doctor”, we are not doing our job to educate the public about why and how decisions / recommendations are made, which I think is extremely important, so when the next pandemic happens, the public has a common awareness and he can better understand what’s going on, why and whether he should worry or not, “she said.
“Different distribution models”
Niagara Public Health is currently unaware of local cases, according to an email to CBC Hamilton on Wednesday.
Dr Azim Kasmani, a health worker in Niagara’s public health, said it was “unlikely” that a pandemic would arise from the current epidemic.
“From what we know about monkeypox so far, it is unlikely to have the same global impact as COVID-19,” he wrote.
“These are different viruses with different patterns of spread and different health effects.”
For now, Dr. Kasmani suggests avoiding close and physical contact with others who could be infected with monkeypox, as well as avoiding sharing personal belongings with these people.
“As we enter the summer months, when large gatherings and outdoor festivals become more frequent, it is important to consider how close skin-to-skin contact you will have when attending an event,” he added.
Like Dr. Mosman, he agrees that people should be careful with monkeypox, but this time we could be a little more prepared for outbreaks.
“COVID-19 was a brand new virus and people were not immune to it when it appeared,” he said. “Monkeypox, on the other hand, has been known for decades, we’ve seen it and we’ve dealt with it before.”
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