Toronto public health officials on Wednesday reported two suspected cases of monkeypox and one probable case, bringing the total number of suspected and confirmed cases in the city to four.
Officials said Wednesday that one of three new cases was close contact with the city’s first case, found in a 40-year-old man who traveled to Montreal and may be related to the case group. that were formed there.
“All three people are men (two in their 30s and 20s) and they’re fine,” a Toronto public health spokesman told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
A Toronto Public Health spokesman said the origin of the other two suspected or probable cases is still under investigation.
Health officials around the world are investigating more than 100 cases of the disease, caused by a distant relative of the smallpox virus.
Ontario officials have issued official orders to report all suspected cases, as well as an initial guide to isolating infected people at the hospital.
Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash or lesions that begin on the face and move to other parts of the body.
It can also involve fever, headache, back pain, sore throat, cough and back pain.
It is usually transmitted through prolonged close contact between infected individuals.
UHN infectious disease specialist Dr. Susy Hota says there is no doubt that we will see more cases of monkeypox.
“The question is how many cases we will see, how it will be transmitted and there is something that tells us that something has changed in this virus and how it behaves.”
He said there are still many health workers who need to learn about this outbreak.
“We are now in this exploratory phase of trying to understand this virus a little better.”