Canada has now confirmed 300 cases of monkeypox as of July 4, according to an ad from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on Monday.
Quebec has once again reported the highest number with 211 cases, while Ontario has reported 77 cases. There are also eight confirmed cases in Alberta and four cases in British Columbia.
Monkeypox is a viral infectious disease transmitted to humans from animals caused by an orthopoxvirus, which is related to smallpox, according to PHAC.
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Monkeypox cases in Europe have tripled in the last 2 weeks, says WHO
People can become infected through direct contact with an infected person or through shared contaminated objects.
PHAC noted that the possibility and extent of respiratory transmission of monkeypox are “unclear at this time.”
“The Public Health Agency of Canada is working with provinces, territories and international partners, including the World Health Organization, to actively monitor the situation,” states PHAC. “Global efforts are focused on containing the outbreak and preventing further spread.”
In addition to performing diagnostic tests for monkeypox virus, Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory is also performing whole genome sequencing on Canadian monkeypox samples to understand the chains of transmission that occur in Canada, he says. PHAC.
In Canada, adults over the age of 18 who have no contraindications are eligible to receive the IMVAMUNE vaccine, which was intentionally developed to treat smallpox.
Smallpox vaccination is about 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox, states PHAC.
A total of 8,101 doses of the IMVAMUNE vaccine have been administered in Quebec since May 27, while nearly 6,000 people in Toronto have been vaccinated against monkeypox as of June 30, provincial health authorities told Global News.
Cases of monkeypox around the world are also on the rise. As of July 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 5,782 confirmed cases in 52 countries.
On July 4, Reuters reported more than 5,800 confirmed cases worldwide, with data obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO), the US CDC, and local authorities.
Cases have tripled in Europe in the past two weeks, WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement published on July 1.
Despite the growing number of cases, the WHO ruled on June 25 that monkeypox is not yet a global health emergency.
— with files from Kalina Laframboise and Issac Callan of Global, The Associated Press and Reuters
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