Public Health Ontario says there were 367 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province on Thursday, up from 326 on Monday.
The agency’s latest report says the majority of cases, nearly 78 percent, were reported in Toronto.
Almost all affected people are men, with only two reported in female patients.
Public Health Ontario says the average age of confirmed cases is just under 36.
The report says 11 people have been hospitalized with the disease and two are in intensive care.
He says there are also 12 probable cases, 10 of which are men.
Public health says most cases are among men who report having sex with men, but they say anyone can get monkeypox.
Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said recently that monkeypox will likely be around for “many months” because of its long incubation period, but noted that Ontario is not seeing rapid growth of the virus
In general, the virus does not spread easily and is transmitted by prolonged close contact through respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.
Common symptoms include rash, oral and genital lesions, and swollen lymph nodes.
Monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in fighting the smallpox virus.
Local public health units in Ontario have vaccination clinics for those deemed by the province to be at high risk of contracting monkeypox.
Moore said the province is not looking to expand its vaccination strategy at this time because “it seems to be working.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 29, 2022.