Interim Director of Public Health Dr Luke Boylo is expected to provide an update Thursday morning on the growing number of monkeypox cases in the province.
Dr. Genevieve Bergeron, a medical officer for emergencies and infectious diseases at Montreal Public Health, and Dr. Caroline Kuach, a microbiologist and infectious disease expert at Sainte-Justine Hospital, must accompany him.
This comes after a total of 16 cases of monkeypox were confirmed in Canada, all of which are in Quebec, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Most are in Montreal, with 13 confirmed and 14 suspected infections.
Montreal Public Health notes that none of the people affected are seriously ill.
PHAC says it is providing Quebec with a small amount of Imvamune vaccine from Canada’s National Strategic Emergency Reserve (NESS) to bolster its response plan.
Monkeypox is a rare disease from the same family as smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated in 1980.
Monkeypox does not usually spread easily among humans, it is usually transmitted through prolonged close contact with respiratory droplets, body fluids, or wounds in an infected person.
It is usually milder than smallpox and can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and sores.
Health officials emphasize that the risk of monkeypox is low.
Quebec reported its first cases of the virus last week.
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