With 26 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, health officials warn there will likely be more cases reported in the coming days and weeks. However, one expert says the outbreak can be stopped if the country works quickly to get it under control.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Isaac Bogoch says that Canada will “definitely” see more cases of the virus in the “few days and weeks ahead.”
“This outbreak is going to crumble along unfortunately for a bit of time,” Bogoch told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday.
However, if health officials act quickly, Bogoch said the outbreak in Canada can be stopped.
“Currently, there’s only 26 people in a country of 38 million people and the risk of the general population today is extremely, extremely small. But let’s play our cards right. Let’s deal with this quickly and effectively so that no one else needs to get this infection and that we just get this under control,” he said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada announced on Thursday there are now 25 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Quebec, and one confirmed case in Ontario. However, the health agency says several suspected and probable cases are still being investigated.
Prior to this month, monkeypox had never been detected in Canada.
Despite the unexplained rise in cases in Canada, and a growing number in other countries such as the U.S., Spain, Portugal, and the U.K., Bogoch says Canada has the tools to “quell this quickly,” if federal and provincial health officials take a co-ordinated approach to vaccinating those at high risk.
“We have an outbreak of this right now, but there’s no reason to let this run amok and there’s no reason to have this infect many people,” he said.
PHAC said they are focusing on a “targeted approach to vaccination and treatment” amid the current outbreak, and do not believe a mass vaccination campaign is necessary.
There is no proven treatment for the virus infection, but the smallpox vaccine is known to also protect against monkeypox, with a greater than 85 per cent efficacy. Because the smallpox vaccine eradicated the disease, however, routine smallpox immunization for the general population ended in Canada in 1972.
PHAC has already supplied Quebec with 1,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine Imvamune from Canada’s National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. Because of the limited supply, it is not yet clear who will be eligible for the vaccines, but Bogoch said they will likely be reserved for close contacts and health-care workers.
Bogoch said if vaccines are issued to high-risk groups quickly, officials “can certainly prevent the spread of this and fewer Canadians need to be impacted.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MONKEYPOX
First discovered in 1958, monkeypox is a rare disease caused by a virus that belongs to the same family as the one that causes smallpox. The disease was first found in colonies of monkeys used for research.
The disease has primarily been reported in central and western African countries, with the first case outside the continent reported in 2003 in the United States.
The virus is transmitted through contact with an infected animal, human or contaminated material. Transmission between people is thought to primarily occur through large respiratory droplets, which generally do not travel far and would require extended close contact. Transmission from an animal can happen through bites or scratches, contact with an animal’s blood or body fluids.
Monkeypox symptoms are similar to those for the smallpox, but generally milder. The first signs are fever, headache, muscle aches, backaches, chills, and exhaustion.
The incubation period — the span of time between initial infection and seeing symptoms — for monkeypox is generally 6-13 days, but can range to as many as 21 days, according to PHAC.
The “pox” develops after the onset of a fever and usually occurs between one to three days later, sometimes longer. A rash usually begins on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, developing into distinct, raised bumps that then become filled with fluid or pus.
Dr. Howard Njoo, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, said Canadians should be aware of these symptoms, and seek medical attention particularly if they have an unexplained rash.
He added that people can avoid infection by “maintaining physical distance from people outside their homes.”
“As well, wearing masks, covering coughs and sneezes, and practicing frequent handwashing continues to be important, especially in public spaces,” Njoo said.
While the overall risk of monkeypox to the general public is low, Njoo said it is important to remember that everyone is susceptible, despite most cases in the country and others appearing to be spread through sexual contact between men.
He added that more guidance on case identification and contact tracing, along with infection prevention, will be released shortly.
Monkeypox is endemic in animals in regions in Western Africa, and while cases have popped up in countries where it is not endemic before, the cases typically involved people who recently travelled from a country in Africa.
What is unusual right now is that officials in numerous countries that don’t usually deal with monkeypox are seeing cases where the patient has no travel history, Njoo said.
Due to the unexpected nature of the current outbreak, Njoo said health officials in Canada and abroad are looking at whether there are any changes from what was previously known about the rare illness, including incubation period and method of transmission.
He said global cases are “not all similar in how they’re presenting,” and said milder cases may even go undetected.
“Our understanding of the virus is still evolving, but I want to emphasize this is a global response,” Njoo said.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Alexandra Mae Jones and Solarina Ho
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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