Canadian health officials will provide an update on monkeypox on Wednesday after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global health emergency over the weekend.
The briefing comes as Canada’s count of confirmed smallpox cases reached 681 on July 23. Globalnews.ca will carry the update live, which is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM EDT.
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Most of the country’s cases have been found in Quebec and Ontario, which reported 331 and 288, respectively, as of July 23. British Columbia has 48 confirmed cases, Alberta with 12 and Saskatchewan with two.
Since July 1, Canada has seen a doubling of cases of monkeypox, including the first in Saskatchewan and the first in a woman in Ontario, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) officials said on July 23. Infections are expected to continue to rise as the outbreak evolves. , they added.
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More than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 78 countries since its unusual appearance in the West this spring, WHO officials said Wednesday. More than 70% of the cases have been found in Europe and 25% have been located in America. It declared the outbreak a global health emergency on July 23.
1:56 Hundreds of monkeypox cases reported in Canada Hundreds of monkeypox cases reported in Canada
So far, five deaths have been linked to the outbreak and 10% of cases have required hospitalisation. About 98 percent of the cases have occurred among men who have sex with men, WHO officials said, and cautioned that the virus can spread to anyone because it is not limited to a group
Monkeypox, which causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions, is transmitted to humans by animals caused by an orthopoxvirus, which is related to smallpox, according to PHAC.
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People can become infected through direct contact with an infected person or by sharing contaminated objects such as sheets or towels. The disease occurs mainly in West and Central Africa and only occasionally spreads elsewhere.
This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colored transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found inside an infected cell (blue), grown in the laboratory that was captured and color enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Md. NIAID via AP
Last month, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that Canadians who are at high risk of contracting monkeypox, not just those who have been infected, get vaccinated.
Anyone at high risk of exposure to a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox, or who has visited an environment where transmission of the virus is occurring, should receive a dose of the Imvamune vaccine, NACI said.
NACI also said vaccines may be offered to those who are immunocompromised, pregnant or nursing, or children and youth, if they are at increased risk of exposure.
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Imvamune, which is normally used to treat smallpox, has been approved by Health Canada to treat smallpox. To date, Ottawa has sent more than 70,000 doses of vaccines to provinces and territories.
Right now, mass vaccination is not recommended, WHO officials said Wednesday. Canadian health officials have said the overall risk to the general public remains low.
Although vaccination is expected to provide protection, a successful response to the monkeypox outbreak depends on many public health measures, including targeted public health education and equipping people with the information they need to make informed decisions, said PHAC on July 23.
2:22 Toronto sees increased demand for monkeypox vaccine Toronto sees increased demand for monkeypox vaccine
To reduce the risk of contracting or spreading monkeypox, PHAC advises Canadians to stay home and limit contact with others if they have symptoms, which include fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches.
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Canadians can also stay protected by avoiding close physical contact, including sexual contact, with someone infected or who may have been exposed to monkeypox virus, maintaining good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and objects in your home. home, especially after receiving visitors.
“PHAC continues to work closely with international, provincial and territorial health partners to gather information on this evolving outbreak and to assess the potential risk of exposure to monkeypox virus in Canada,” PHAC officials said in the his statement of July 23.
“Canada will continue to work with WHO and international partners to strengthen the global response to the current monkeypox outbreak.”
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