Although PEI has not had any confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox, the provincial health organization says it is doing its best to prepare.
Monkeypox, also known as MPX, has spread worldwide this year for the first time, with 210 cases in Canada, according to the federal government’s website. Patients should be isolated until the lesions they cause heal.
“We have 140 doses of vaccine and are given four weeks apart for anyone who identifies as a close contact,” PEI’s director of public health Dr. Heather Morrison told CBC News.
“We also have a couple of treatment courses, and these are emergency reserve antivirals that have been assigned to Prince Edward Island.”
Morrison said most symptoms of monkeypox occur between five and 21 days after exposure, and transmission is usually caused by skin-to-skin contact.
“There’s also a bit of aerosol transmission with someone else who has monkeypox, so definitely watch out for the signs and symptoms associated with that if there’s been that contact,” he said.
The monkeypox vaccine is given four days after exposure to reduce the chances of getting sick, while antiviral courses are given to those who have confirmed smallpox.
Some health authorities in cities with high rates of smallpox, such as Toronto and Montreal, are beginning to vaccinate some at-risk groups. Morrison said that while PEI has no plans to do so now, they are in discussions with other Atlantic public health colleagues and closely watching the national guide.
A health worker is preparing a syringe at a monkeypox vaccination clinic run by public health authorities in Montreal, where the number of cases has been rising. (Christinne Muschi / Reuters)
“We want to make sure that our professional doctors and nurses are up to date with the information and are also working with some community partners to make sure that there is a good education about smallpox.” to say.
“If we see an outbreak on Prince Edward Island, we’ll adjust and maybe try to get vaccinated.”
Morrison said he believes monkeypox is a “very low risk to the general population” right now and that most people recover pretty well in two to four weeks.
“For most people, it’s a self-limiting virus. But it can certainly be, as with any of the viruses, certainly more symptomatic for some people than for others.”
He said the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic mean that there has been more focus and understanding about viruses and communicable diseases in general, and this helps with knowledge of the spread and containment.
Still, Morrison said it is important for those who have come in contact with someone who has smallpox or have symptoms to talk to a doctor or nurse.
A centrifuge device rotates while being used to prepare suspicious smallpox samples for PCR testing in a microbiology laboratory in Madrid, Spain. Europe is at the center of the outbreak of the smallpox virus, with Britain, Spain and Portugal reporting the highest number of patients. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images)
“If someone has traveled to an area where they have been exposed to someone or identified as close contact with someone who may have monkeypox, they should really contact their doctor or nurse and we can work together to try to make sure they have treatment if they have symptoms or have the vaccine as a post-exposure prophylaxis, “Morrison said.
Morrison said this is the first time the monkey’s smallpox has been found in Canada and health authorities across the country are releasing as much information as they can to the public to reduce concern.
“There is certainly a lot of information that you have good access to that they are trying to spread nationally and through community groups and our suppliers,” he said. “Even the guidance we have sent to our suppliers here will evolve and change as we learn more and also respond to the situation.”
“In Toronto and Montreal, for example, where the numbers are higher, they are responding in a slightly different way. But we will certainly pay attention in the coming weeks and months.”