Alberta has identified a case of smallpox in the province.
In a post on social media on Thursday afternoon, the medical director of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said that an isolated case of the disease has been confirmed in an adult in Alberta.
Smallpox is a rare disease that can cause fever, pain and rash, according to Hinshaw, who added that smallpox is uncommon and is generally considered a low risk to the general public.
Read more: Outbreaks of diseases such as monkeypox are becoming more frequent, warns the WHO
Hinshaw said no identifying information will be released to protect patient privacy. It is not known how the person contracted the virus or where he resides in Alberta, but Hinshaw said the person “had close contact with a known case outside the province.”
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Hinshaw said the person self-isolates and his team works with them to investigate and track contacts.
“Right now, the risk of additional transmission is low,” Hinshaw said.
Read more: Toronto Public Health reports 3 more cases of confirmed smallpox
Smallpox is commonly found in West and Central African countries with rainforests, but the disease has recently been discovered in more than 20 countries, including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States and Israel. and Australia. More than 500 cases have been reported. No deaths were reported.
This is the first confirmed case of the disease in Alberta.
“I’d like to remind Albertans that monkeypox is not easily spread among people. Transmission can be caused by contact with body fluids, sores, or items recently contaminated with fluids or ulcers,” Hinshaw said.
“While it is also possible to get sick from respiratory drops after spending a long time near an infected person, those most at risk are those who have had prolonged close contact with a case.”
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Dr. David Evans, a virologist at the University of Alberta who has been researching “smallpox” viruses since the 1980s, said that monkeypox in Global News is “a completely different disease from COVID- 19 “.
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“It’s a DNA virus. It’s not made of RNA,” he said, adding that it usually causes small outbreaks that tend to stop after a “very limited transmission.”
“It’s not time to panic. These viruses aren’t particularly infectious.”
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Canada’s director of public health, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the monkey’s smallpox can also be spread through direct contact with contaminated objects from someone, such as clothing, clothing and other objects and shared surfaces.
“This includes spreading through skin-to-skin or other intimate contact, including sexual activity. The virus can also be transmitted by inhaling infectious respiratory drops during close contact,” Tam told Twitter on Thursday afternoon.
Read more: Quebec monkeypox infections double in one week with 52 confirmed cases
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Anyone who thinks they may have been in prolonged close contact with someone with monkeypox, or who has symptoms such as fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, is asked to isolate and call 811.
“Monkeypox can be reported in Alberta as a rare or emerging communicable disease. We continue to investigate the spread of monkeypox with our federal and provincial partners and will regularly assess the situation as it evolves,” Hinsahw said.
Confirmed cases of monkeypox have also been reported in Ontario and Quebec.
Evans said “there are periodic outbreaks” of monkeypox, but noted that “it’s a bit unusual to see this number of cases occur” in Canada.
“As far as I know, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a case of monkeypox before,” he said, adding that there are “very good” antiviral drugs as well as vaccines that Canada has. He noted that vaccines are usually more effective in someone who has been exposed to monkeypox but has not yet shown symptoms.
Evans added that the history of the virus indicates that it usually tends to “run out” because it does not spread “so efficiently.”
– Filed by Phil Heidenreich, Global News
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