Canadian health officials will provide an update on monkeypox on Wednesday after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global health emergency over the weekend.
The briefing comes after the number of confirmed monkeypox cases in Canada reached 681 on July 23. Globalnews.ca will be live streaming the update, which is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM EDT.
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The majority of the country’s cases have been found in Quebec and Ontario, which recorded 331 and 288, respectively, as of July 23. British Columbia has 48 confirmed cases, Alberta with 12 and Saskatchewan with two.
Cases of monkeypox have doubled in Canada since July 1, including the first in Saskatchewan and the first in a woman in Ontario, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) officials said July 23. Infections are expected to continue to rise as the epidemic progresses, they added.
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More than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 78 countries since its unusual appearance in the West this spring, WHO officials said Wednesday. More than 70 percent of the cases were found in Europe, and 25 percent were traced to America. He declared the outbreak a global health emergency on July 23.
1:56 Hundreds of cases of monkeypox reported in Canada Hundreds of cases of monkeypox reported in Canada
So far, five deaths have been linked to the outbreak and 10 percent of cases required hospitalization. An estimated 98 percent of cases are among men who have sex with men, WHO officials said, urging caution that the virus can spread to anyone because it is not limited to one group.
Monkeypox, which causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions, is transmitted to humans from animals caused by orthopoxvirus, which is related to smallpox, according to PHAC.
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Individuals can become infected by direct contact with an infected person or by sharing contaminated items, including bedding or towels. The disease is found mainly in West and Central Africa and only occasionally spreads elsewhere.
This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a stained transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found in an infected cell (blue) cultured in the laboratory that was captured and stained in NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland NIAID via AP
Last month, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that Canadians who are at high risk of contracting monkeypox — not just those who have been infected — get the vaccine.
Anyone at high risk of exposure to a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox, or who has visited an environment where the virus is being transmitted, should receive one dose of the Imvamune vaccine, NACI said.
NACI also said vaccines may be offered to those who are immunocompromised, pregnant or breastfeeding, or children and youth if they are at higher risk of exposure.
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Imvamune, which is commonly used to treat smallpox, has been approved by Health Canada to treat monkeypox. To date, Ottawa has shipped more than 70,000 vaccine doses to provinces and territories.
Mass vaccination is not currently recommended, WHO officials said on Wednesday. Canadian health officials said the overall risk to the general public remains low.
Although vaccination is expected to provide protection, a successful response to a monkeypox outbreak relies on many public health measures, including targeted public health education and equipping people with the information they need to make informed choices, PHAC said on July 23.
2:22 Toronto sees increased demand for monkeypox vaccine Toronto sees increased demand for monkeypox vaccine
To reduce the risk of contracting or spreading monkeypox, PHAC advises Canadians to stay home and limit contact with others if they have symptoms, which include fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches.
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Canadians can also stay protected by avoiding close physical contact, including sexual contact, with someone who is infected with or may have been exposed to the monkeypox virus, maintaining good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and cleaning and disinfecting vigorously touched surfaces and objects in your home, especially when there are visitors.
“PHAC continues to work closely with international, provincial and territorial health partners to gather information about this developing outbreak and assess the potential risk of exposure to monkeypox virus in Canada,” PHAC officials said in their statement from July 23.
“Canada will continue to work with WHO and international partners to strengthen the global response to the current monkeypox outbreak.”
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