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The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on Wednesday confirmed a total of 604 cases of smallpox in the country.
Cases included 320 from Quebec, 230 from Ontario, 40 from British Columbia, 12 from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The Canadian federal government said Wednesday it will fund to support community organizations to deal with monkeypox.
According to the PHAC, provinces and territories are reviewing case data in their jurisdictions, and those who meet the case definition will be notified to the PHAC for inclusion in the national investigation.
The National Microbiology Laboratory is conducting diagnostic tests for the virus that causes monkeypox. In addition, the lab is conducting full genome sequencing, an improved fingerprint analysis, on Canadian monkeypox samples, the PHAC said.
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.