Quebec public health officials report a total of 25 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province on Thursday.
Dr. Luc Boileau, the province’s interim director of public health, described it as a “serious outbreak” of the virus. Officials are investigating several more suspicious cases.
“So far we have had between 20 and 30 suspicious cases under investigation,” Boileau said.
The province will also start administering the Imvamune vaccine to close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox as soon as Friday. Boileau said the federal government has provided the supplies, which arrived earlier this week.
A single dose of the vaccine will be provided within four days of exposure to the virus. The Quebec Ministry of Health said in a statement that a second dose could be administered, but only if the risk of exposure is “still present 28 days later” and “only after a decision by the public health authorities.” .
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Boileau said most confirmed cases in the province are related primarily to men who have had sex with other men. There has been one case in a person under the age of 18.
Last week, Quebec recorded the first cases of the virus in the country. The first suspicious cases were reported on May 12 in Montreal.
Smallpox is a rare disease that comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980.
The virus spreads through prolonged close contact. It can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and injuries.
– with Dan Spector files from Global News and the Canadian press
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