Two cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Quebec, the first such cases in the country, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
The agency says it has alerted public health authorities around Canada to look for symptoms in patients, regardless of whether they’ve travelled.
“This is an evolving and ongoing investigation, both in Canada and around the world,” PHAC said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, Montreal’s top public health official urged people not to panic as her department investigated 17 cases of suspected monkeypox in the greater Montreal region.
Dr. Mylène Drouin said there were 15 suspected cases on the island of Montreal, one on the South Shore and another north of Laval.
It’s not clear if the two cases confirmed by PHAC are among those 17.
“Most of our cases are not severe,” said Drouin.
Until now, monkeypox outbreaks have been limited mostly to central and western Africa, but in recent weeks, suspected cases have been identified in the U.S., U.K., Portugal and Spain.
WATCH | How the virus is transmitted:
Montrealers ‘do not have to panic’ over monkeypox: public health
15 hours ago
Duration 3:35
Dr. Mylène Drouin, Montreal’s public health director, said there are 17 suspected cases in the region, but they’re not highly contagious.
Drouin said the first cases in Montreal were reported on May 12 by clinics specializing in sexually transmitted diseases. She said those cases are tied mostly to men aged 30 to 55 who have had sexual relations with other men.
The virus is not sexually transmitted, Drouin explained, but is mainly spread “by close contact and [respiratory] droplets.”
It is also spread by open sores, contact with bodily fluids, or by touching contaminated clothes or bedding.
“It’s not something that you can acquire when you [do your groceries] or on public transportation,” she said.
Drouin described those at risk of contracting the virus as “those in the same household and sexual partners.” She urged anyone with symptoms to consult a doctor.
A section of skin tissue, harvested from a lesion on the skin of a monkey, that had been infected with monkeypox virus, is seen at 50X magnification on day four of rash development in 1968. (Handout/Reuters)
The news conference came after Quebec’s Health Ministry said late Wednesday it had been notified of a person with a confirmed case of monkeypox who had travelled to the province.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a single case of monkeypox on Wednesday in a man who had recently travelled to Canada. Drouin said several of the cases in Montreal have been linked to the traveller who came from Boston.
Cautious optimism
Likened to a milder form of smallpox, monkeypox is a rare viral illness that typically begins with symptoms such as fever, headache, backache and fatigue — similar to symptoms of COVID-19 or the flu. But doctors say the most noticeable symptom is a rash or lesions on the skin.
“They’re very specific: they look like mini-volcanoes,” said Dr. Robert Pilarski, a family physician at Clinique Médicale La Licorne in Montreal, who has treated several recent suspected monkeypox patients.
Pilarski said the four patients he’s seen have presented with lesions around their genitals. He recommends anyone with flu-like symptoms and “eruptions on the skin” to isolate immediately.
The incubation period for monkeypox is between seven to 14 days, according to the doctor, but it can be as short as five days and as long as 21. A person is likely to be contagious one day before symptoms appear, he said.
Symptoms of one of the first known human cases of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patient’s hand in 2003. (CDC/Getty Images)
According to the World Health Organization, there are two distinct clades, or strains, of the monkeypox virus — the Central African (Congo Basin) strain and the West African strain.
Pilarski said he’s seeing what appears to be a less-contagious strain of the virus, which is giving him hope that it will not be widespread.
“We [likely] have the western virus, which is less contagious. So I’m pretty much sure this is going to be a milder course of disease,” said Pilarski. “But we cannot eliminate the possibility of serious complications.”
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says infections with the Congo Basin strain can be fatal in as many as one in 10 people, infections with the West African strain can be fatal in about one in 100 people. Rates can be higher in people who have weakened immune systems.
Smallpox vaccine a potential option
Montreal public health officials don’t believe the virus will circulate in the community, since it’s not highly infectious, Drouin said.
She said all people with suspected cases are in isolation and have been asked to cover their skin lesions with bandages.
Asked about potential treatments for the illness, Drouin said there are no specific remedies available in Canada, “so it is painful, but mainly, the forms that we have right now are not severe forms of the illness.”
Dr. Geneviève Bergeron, Montreal’s medical officer responsible for health emergencies and infectious diseases, said there’s reason to believe people who received the smallpox vaccine as children may have a better chance at fighting off monkeypox.
However, routine immunization programs against smallpox ended in Canada in the early 1970s.
In the U.K., some health-care workers and people who have been in contact with cases have been offered a smallpox vaccine as protection.
Montreal health authorities said they don’t yet know how many people in the city received the smallpox vaccine as children, and a similar course of action to the U.K. won’t be taken just yet.
“First, we have to see if we have access to a vaccine, so it’s going to be a decision that is made at the provincial and federal level,” said Drouin.
BOSTON (AP) — Runners hoping to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon are going to have to pick up the pace.
The Boston Athletic Association has updated its qualifying times for the world’s oldest annual marathon, asking most prospective competitors to run a 26.2-mile race five minutes faster than in recent years to earn a starting number.
“Every time the BAA has adjusted qualifying standards — most recently in 2019 — we’ve seen athletes continue to raise the bar and elevate to new levels,” Jack Fleming, president and CEO of the BAA, said in a statement posted Monday. “In recent years we’ve turned away athletes in this age range (18-59) at the highest rate, and the adjustment reflects both the depth of participation and speed at which athletes are running.”
The BAA introduced qualifying times in 1970 and has expanded and adjusted the requirements through the decades. Runners participating in the event to raise money for charity do not have to meet the qualifying standards.
The latest change means men between the ages of 18 and 34 will have to run a marathon during the qualification window in 2 hours, 55 minutes or faster to earn a spot in the 2026 race — five minutes faster than for this year’s edition.
Women and nonbinary applicants need to complete the distance in 3:25.
The slowest competitors that can earn qualification are in the 80 and over age group. The men in that category must complete a marathon in 4:50, while women and nonbinary competitors have 5:20 to finish. Those numbers were not changed in the most recent adjustment.
The BAA said it had 36,406 qualifier entry applications for next year’s race, more than ever before.
“The record number of applicants indicates the growing trend of our sport and shows that athletes are continuously getting faster and faster,” Fleming said.
The qualifying window for the 2026 race began on Sept. 1 and will run through the conclusion of the registration period of that race next September.
Next year’s Boston Marathon will take place on April 21.
MONTREAL – Former Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Wideman announced he’s retiring after six NHL seasons on Tuesday.
Wideman spent his last three seasons under contract with the Canadiens, but did not play during the 2023-24 campaign due to a back injury.
The 34-year-old said in a letter released by the Canadiens that he made several attempts at rehabilitation and sought a variety of treatments before deciding to hang up his skates. He finishes his career with 20 goals and 58 assists in 291 games.
Wideman, a five-foot-10, 180-pound blueliner, started his NHL career with the Senators in 2015-16. He played parts of four seasons in the nation’s capital before he was traded in 2018-19 to the Edmonton Oilers, playing five games in Alberta before moving on to the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks organizations.
During the 2020-21 season, he played in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League and was named the league’s defenceman of the year.
Wideman returned to the NHL the following season and produced a career-best 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) in 64 games with the Canadiens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
