A person who recently used Toronto’s shelter system is being isolated after testing positive for monkeypox, health officials have confirmed.
In an email to CP24.com, Toronto Public Health (TPH) said they are “currently aware of a confirmed case of smallpox in an individual who recently attended a Toronto shelter.”
The health unit declined to say which shelter was involved and also noted that an outbreak is defined as two or more cases that are epidemiologically linked.
As of Sunday evening, the health unit was only aware of a single confirmed case.
The affected person has been transferred to the city’s COVID-19 isolation and recovery site, which is also used to help people who need to isolate due to monkeypox.
“The City of Toronto continues to work with health experts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, smallpox and other communicable diseases in high-risk environments,” TPH said in a statement. “To support shelters in limiting the number of cases, the shelter system continues to practice strict infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures. This includes performing enhanced cleaning protocols and using protective equipment personal, such as gloves, gowns and protective masks.”
The virus is usually spread through prolonged close contact with respiratory droplets from breathing, talking, coughing, or sneezing, or by skin-to-skin contact with sores, blisters, rashes, or contact with objects, tissues, and surfaces used by someone who has the virus .
The virus can enter the body through breaks in the skin or through the eyes and mouth.
Someone with monkeypox can usually spread the virus when they develop a rash or lesions, but it can also spread when they have early symptoms, such as fever and headache.
Anyone can get the virus, but most cases so far have been in men who have sex with men.
Federal health officials as well as the World Health Organization recently suggested that people consider limiting the number of sexual partners given that the virus appears to be spreading through intimate contact.
The city has organized vaccination clinics for the most at-risk populations.
Public Health Ontario recorded 367 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province on Thursday, with nearly 78 per cent of those cases in Toronto.
Toronto Public Health advises anyone who thinks they may have monkeypox to isolate themselves immediately and contact their health care provider to get tested.
-With archives from The Canadian Press