Siddhartha Banerjee, Canadian Press Published Thursday, May 19, 2022, 10:57 AM EDT Last Updated on Thursday, May 19, 2022, 10:04 PM EDT
MONTREAL – The Canadian Public Health Agency says two cases of monkeypox in Quebec are the first confirmed cases in the country.
The agency said in a statement late Thursday that it was working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health officials in Quebec to investigate potential exposure and contacts in a case of monkeypox recently identified in the United States.
It says a US citizen recently traveled to Canada by private transport and may have been infected before or during a visit to Montreal.
“Tonight, the province of Quebec was informed that two samples obtained from the National Microbiological Laboratory tested positive for monkeypox,” the statement said. “These are the first two cases confirmed in Canada.
The agency said the monkeypox investigation is developing and continuing in Canada and around the world.
“More information is needed to assess whether there are increased risks to human health in Canada.”
Earlier Thursday, the Quebec Ministry of Health confirmed the first two cases of monkeypox in the province and said 20 other alleged cases were under investigation.
In a press release, the department said people should be vigilant about the symptoms of the rare disease, but stressed that it is spread through prolonged close contact with someone who is infected.
“Thus, its infectivity is considered limited compared to other viruses (influenza, COVID-19, etc.),” the statement said.
Montreal’s public health authorities have called for reassurance, confirming they are investigating 17 suspected cases of monkeypox, saying the disease is unlikely to spread to the community.
The director of public health in Montreal said that based on recent outbreaks in Europe and a case reported in the United States, there is a “high probability” that infections in the city include the monkeypox virus.
“We do not need to panic. At the moment we are talking, this is not something that will go for transmission in society, which will be sustainable, “said Dr. Milen Druin at a press conference.
Druen said the first suspected cases in Montreal were reported on May 12 by clinics specializing in sexually transmitted diseases, although symptoms began to appear around April 29. She said the cases were mostly of men between the ages of 30 and 55 who had sex with other men.
Most of the cases identified in the city are not severe, and symptoms include a period of fever and sweating, followed by a painful rash on the genital area, Druin said. All suspected cases have been isolated and instructed to cover their lesions as they heal. Those considered significant contacts – people from the same household or sexual partners – were asked to observe the symptoms for 21 days.
“There is currently no specific treatment available,” Druin said. “It’s painful, but mainly the forms we have at the moment are not severe forms of the disease.
Druin said the disease is transmitted through prolonged close contact and by droplets, adding that there is no risk of activities such as traveling on public transport, eating at a restaurant or shopping.
“It’s not something we can get by going to the grocery store,” she said.
Although the infections may have been acquired through sexual activity, smallpox is not considered a sexually transmitted disease.
“We do not want to stigmatize any segment of the population,” said Dr. Genevieve Bergeron, a medical officer for emergencies and infectious diseases in public health in Montreal. “We want people to be aware of anxiety, but also to keep in mind that what we are worried about is prolonged close contact, and it can happen in any different setting.”
She said there are probably other cases in the city that have not been identified, and urged people who show symptoms to contact a doctor.
Smallpox is usually confined to Africa, and rare cases in the United States and elsewhere are usually associated with travel there. A small number of confirmed or suspected cases were reported this month in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.
Massachusetts health officials reported a case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada on Wednesday. The man was in Montreal in late April to meet with friends and returned home in early May.
Initially, health officials in Montreal believed they were dealing with cases of chancroid, a bacterial infection that was sexually transmitted, until they received information about the case in the United States and changed the focus of their investigation.
“The case we have in Boston has been linked to several of the suspects (in Montreal), but not all,” Bergeron said, noting that some have traveled to Mexico and Belgium, while others have not involved travel at all.
Bergeron said there was evidence that those who received the smallpox vaccine as children could have better protection against monkeypox. It was routinely offered to those born before 1972 in Canada. Drewin said any decision to resume vaccination would come from the federal and provincial governments.
Monkeypox usually begins with flu-like illness and swollen lymph nodes, followed by a rash on the face and body. In Africa, people have been infected by rodent or small animal bites and it is not usually easily spread among humans.
Smallpox comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox. Most people recover from monkeypox within weeks, but the disease can be fatal for up to one in 10 people, according to the World Health Organization.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 19, 2022.
– With files from the Associated Press.
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