One person who recently used the Toronto shelter system is self-isolating after testing positive for monkeypox, health officials have confirmed.
In an email to CP24.com, Toronto Public Health (TPH) said they are “currently aware of one confirmed case of monkeypox in an individual who recently visited a shelter in Toronto.”
The health unit declined to say which shelter was involved and also noted that an outbreak is defined as two or more cases that are epidemiologically linked.
As of Sunday evening, the health unit was aware of only one confirmed case.
The affected person was transferred to the city’s COVID-19 Isolation and Recovery Center, which is also used to help people who need to isolate due to monkeypox.
“The City of Toronto continues to work with health experts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, monkeypox and other communicable diseases in high-risk settings,” TPH said in a statement. “To assist shelters in limiting the number of cases, the shelter system continues to implement strict infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures. This includes implementing improved cleaning protocols and using personal protective equipment, such as gloves, aprons and protective masks.
The virus is usually spread through prolonged close contact with respiratory droplets from breathing, talking, coughing, or sneezing, or skin-to-skin contact with lesions, blisters, rashes, or contact with objects, tissues, and surfaces used by someone who has the virus.
The virus can enter the body through breaks in the skin or through the eyes and mouth.
A person with monkeypox can usually transmit the virus when they develop a skin rash or lesions, but it can also spread when they have early symptoms, including fever and headache.
Anyone can get the virus, but most cases so far have been in men who have sex with men.
Federal health officials as well as the World Health Organization recently suggested that people consider limiting the number of sexual partners they have, given that the virus appears to be spread through intimate contact.
The city maintains vaccination clinics for the most at-risk populations.
Public Health Ontario had 367 confirmed monkeypox cases in the province as of Thursday, with almost 78 percent of those cases in Toronto.
Toronto Public Health advises anyone who thinks they may have monkeypox to isolate themselves immediately and contact their healthcare provider to be tested.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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