Toronto public health officials reported two additional suspected cases of monkeypox and one probable case on Wednesday, bringing the total number of suspected and confirmed cases in the city to four.
Officials said Wednesday that one of the three new cases is close contact with the first case in the city found in a 40-year-old man traveling to Montreal who may be linked to a group of cases.
“All three are men (two in their 30s and one in their 20s) and are doing well,” a Toronto public health spokesman told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
A Toronto public health spokesman said the origins of the other two suspected or probable cases were still being investigated.
Healthcare professionals around the world are investigating more than 100 cases of the disease caused by a distant relative of the smallpox virus.
Ontario officials have issued official orders to report all suspected cases, as well as an initial guide to isolating infected people in a hospital.
Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash or lesions that start in the face and spread to other parts of the body.
It can also include fever, headache, back pain, sore throat, cough and back pain.
It is usually spread through prolonged close contact between infected individuals.
UHN Infectious Diseases Specialist Dr. Susie Hota says there is no doubt that we will see more cases of monkeypox.
“The question is how many cases we will see, how it will be transmitted and is there anything to show us that something has changed about this virus and how it is behaving.
She said there are still many health workers who need to know about the outbreak.
“We are currently in this research phase trying to understand this virus a little better.”
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