OTTAWA –
The federal government plans to give $1 million to community organizations across the country to provide gay and bisexual men with information about monkeypox and fight the stigma surrounding the disease.
Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeau says Montreal-based community organization REZO will receive $150,000 to support local and provincial outreach efforts, and the Toronto AIDS Committee and MAX Ottawa will each receive $100,000.
Guilbeault stood in for the announcement at the REZO organization as the Minister of Health was not available.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the disease is mainly transmitted among men who report intimate contact with men, but anyone can contract monkeypox.
As of Wednesday, there were 604 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, with the vast majority in Quebec and Ontario.
Two organizations in Vancouver and one in Edmonton are also expected to receive money, and the Public Health Agency will keep $100,000 in reserve to target any emerging monkeypox issues.
Monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in fighting the monkeypox virus.
Guilbeault said he is confident Canada will have enough vaccine to deal with the spread of the disease, but did not have further details on how many supplies Canada has or is trying to get.
The virus usually does not spread easily and is transmitted by prolonged close contact through respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.
Common symptoms include a rash, oral and genital lesions, and swollen lymph nodes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022.
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