Montreal officials are due to update Thursday morning on several suspected cases of monkeypox in the city.
Montreal Public Health Director Dr. Milen Druen is expected to speak at 11 a.m., along with Dr. Genevieve Bergeron, medical officer responsible for emergencies and infectious diseases.
So far, at least seven suspected cases have been identified in Montreal, according to Dr. Donald Vin, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at McGill University Health Center (MUHC).
Monkeypox is a rare disease that can manifest as fever, headache and fatigue.
After a few days, patients may develop a rash that often begins on the face before spreading to other parts of the body.
Most patients recover within a few weeks, although in some cases this can be potentially fatal.
A distinctive feature of monkeypox compared to smallpox is that it causes swelling of the lymph nodes, according to the CDC.
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Public Health Department in the United States said in a statement that it had confirmed a case of the disease in an elderly man “on a recent trip to Canada.”
This comes after five cases were identified in Portugal, seven were confirmed in the United Kingdom and 23 were marked in Spain.
Health officials are investigating whether the cases in North America are related to outbreaks in Europe.
Smallpox is usually confined to Africa, and the few cases seen elsewhere in the world are usually associated with travel to the region.
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys that were kept for research.
The first human case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the CDC.
– with files from The Canadian Press.
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