OTTAWA –
Federal officials say there are 168 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says 141 cases were reported as of Friday in Quebec, 21 in Ontario, four in Alberta and two in British Columbia.
Canada’s chief public health official says all the infections were in men aged 20 to 69.
Dr. Teresa Tam told a news conference that many cases involve sexual contact with other men, but the virus can spread to anyone who has had close physical contact with an infected person.
There, he says local health authorities have indicated that the growth rate is slowing and they will follow the trajectory of the disease in the coming weeks.
Montreal officials expanded the city’s vaccination campaign on Tuesday to include all men who have sex with men, and Toronto began running high-risk immunization clinics earlier this week.
Monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox and smallpox vaccines have proven effective in combating the associated virus.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 17, 2022.
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