St. JOHN’S, NL –
Newfoundland and Labrador reported its first probable case of smallpox on Thursday, a day after Nova Scotia’s health minister said the province had identified its first two cases.
Dr. Rosann Seviour, Newfoundland and Labrador’s acting chief medical officer of health, gave few details about the case or where in the province the person involved likely contracted the disease, citing concerns about stigma.
Seviour said residents would not receive the same level of benefit from detailed monkeypox exposure notifications as people from information released during COVID-19 outbreaks.
“Some of our concerns about this are about the stigmatization of certain groups and I think when you come from a smaller region, it makes people more relatable, which we don’t want to happen,” Seviour said.
On Wednesday, Canada’s director of public health, Dr. Theresa Tam, said 745 cases of monkeypox had been confirmed in Canada. The vast majority of cases have been between men who have sex with men.
Seviour said a probable case is defined as someone with an unexplained acute rash or lesions and who has been exposed to the virus. He said contract monitoring is underway and close contacts of the likely case are being offered the Imvamune vaccine.
The province is the sixth in Canada to identify a case, he said.
Symptoms of monkeypox include skin lesions in the mouth and genital area, fever, night sweats, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and joint or muscle pain. The virus is spread through prolonged close contact and can be spread through skin lesions, respiratory droplets, and sharing clothing, bedding, or other common items that have come into contact with the sores of an infected person.
Quebec has reported 346 cases of the disease since the start of the outbreak, the highest number in Canada.
The World Health Organization last weekend declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern.
Seviour said it was only a matter of time before Newfoundland and Labrador detected its first case.
“I was not surprised that we had a case because of the activities around the world, the international travel and the mobility of people,” he said.
He said that while the current stock of vaccines in the country is not large, he did not think he would have a problem getting enough to treat people.
“I have no doubt that if we need a vaccine next week, I will be able to get it in the quantities we would need to start our campaign,” Seviour said.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s health minister confirmed in the legislature on Wednesday that the province’s first “couple” of monkeypox cases had been identified.
Michelle Thompson said during question period that a couple of cases of monkeypox had been identified and were being “contained”. He added that some close contacts have been offered monkeypox vaccinations.
“There’s no outbreak of any kind, all the contacts have been very easily traced, and public health is on top of it,” Thompson said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 28, 2022.
— By Keith Doucette in Halifax, with files from Lyndsay Armstrong.