There are four cases of smallpox of the monkey under investigation in Toronto, public health officials said Monday.
Toronto Public Health said only one positive case of the disease has been confirmed so far. Eight other suspicious cases have turned negative.
“No new confirmed cases have been reported to the lab since our last update,” officials said on social media, “We will continue to keep the public informed.”
Toronto Public Health will update a new board at 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
On Friday, there was a confirmed case and four probable infections. On May 26, the first confirmed case in the lab was announced in a man believed to be in his 40s who had contact with someone who had recently traveled to Montreal. Officials said at the time that the patient was “stable” in the hospital.
The Ontario medical director of health issued an order last week requiring health care providers to report all possible or suspected cases of monkeypox to public health units.
Public health officials have said smallpox “not usually” is easily transmitted from person to person. It is transmitted mainly by contact with body fluids, but can also be transmitted after prolonged face-to-face contact.
2/2: We will continue to keep the public informed with updated data from Monday to Friday at 15:00. Learn more about #Monkeypox, symptoms, prevention, treatment, and local case numbers: https://t.co/ 2xHsWzsw6Y.
– Toronto Public Health (@TOPublicHealth) May 30, 2022
Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after exposure and may include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and rash or injury. A person is considered to be infectious from five days before the rash begins until the lesions have begun to fall and crust.
Officials say the infection is rarely fatal.