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Ottawa Public Health administered 100 doses of smallpox vaccine over the weekend to people at high risk of contracting the monkeypox virus. Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia
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Just over a week after the confirmation of the city’s first case of monkeypox, Ottawa’s public health department administered 100 doses of smallpox vaccine over the weekend to people at high risk of contracting the virus.
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Smallpox vaccines, which many countries have as strategic reserves, are effective against monkeypox, which is from the same family of viruses.
At a meeting of the health board on Monday, Dr Vera Etches said OPH plans to expand access to the vaccine for high-risk people, including offering clinics.
OPH confirmed the first case of monkeypox in the city on June 10. Since then, the infected have recovered and their close contacts have been vaccinated. There are three additional suspects in Ottawa. As of June 16, Health Canada reported 168 confirmed cases of monkeypox across the country, most of them in Quebec. There are 33 confirmed cases in Ontario and dozens of suspicious or probable cases, most of them in Toronto.
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Monkeypox is endemic to parts of West Africa, but is rare outside these countries. The current outbreak, which includes at least 2,100 cases in 42 non-endemic countries, is both unprecedented and rapidly spreading.
Monkeypox is milder than smallpox – which was eradicated through global health efforts in the 1980s.
Etches said OPH is working with groups to raise awareness about monkeypox and will continue to consider the need for vaccinations.
The majority of cases of monkeypox have been in men who have sex with men and their contacts. World health officials have warned that the infection, which causes rashes, blisters and some flu-like symptoms, can be spread by anyone through close contact and is not a sexually transmitted disease.
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But sexual contact is at the heart of the province’s efforts to prevent the spread of monkeypox. The province has identified people with a recent history of sexually transmitted infections, two or more sexual partners in recent weeks, and those who have had sexual contact during the same period as being at increased risk for monkeypox.
In Toronto, Public Health conducted two weekend vaccination clinics for people over the age of 18 who belong to the “community of gays, bisexuals, and other men who have sex with men.”
Etches said OPH is working with the Ontario Department of Health, Public Health and local infectious disease experts to respond to any additional suspicious cases and make sure local doctors know what to look for.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headache, exhaustion, and rash with lesions. The rash often appears on the face and limbs a few days after the other symptoms and can spread to other parts of the body.
The AIDS Committee in Ottawa will hold an information session on monkeypox on Thursday between 6 and 8 pm with infectious disease expert Dr. Paul McPherson. Contact cory@aco-cso.ca for more information.
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