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Canada’s director of public health Theresa Tam has confirmed a total of 278 cases of smallpox in the country on June 29.
The cases had been reported nationwide, including four cases in British Columbia, five in Alberta, 67 in Ontario and 202 in Quebec, the senior doctor said Thursday.
Tam reiterated that the risk of exposure to the monkeypox virus is not unique to any group or environment, Xinhua news agency reported.
Anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, could become infected and spread the virus if they come in close contact with someone who has smallpox or has direct contact with their personal or shared items, including towels or clothing. bed, he warned.
According to Tam, the latest epidemiological data show that most cases are men and are between 20 and 69 years old.
Smallpox is a wild zoonosis that can cause infections in humans and the disease usually occurs in the forested areas of central and western Africa. It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus family, according to the World Health Organization.