As of Friday, Canada has recorded 77 confirmed cases of monkeypox, almost all of which have been detected in Quebec, where authorities consider the situation “worrying”.
The American nation confirmed the first two cases in this French-speaking province on May 20.
A situation deemed “worrying”, explained Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief administrator of the Canadian Federal Public Health Agency, during a press conference. The authorities fear in particular “that cases develop in families and that they affect pregnant women or young children”, he added.
Njoo also clarified that this spread “is not (restricted) to any particular group or environment” and therefore can affect “anyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
In this regard, smallpox vaccines were delivered to the province. They can be effective in protecting contact cases because there is no specific treatment for monkeypox, which usually goes away on its own.
Monkeypox is a mild disease, but its spread outside endemic areas such as West Africa worries experts.
Since the start of the current peak in cases almost a month ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been notified of 550 cases in 30 countries, mainly European, where the disease is not endemic and is very rarely detected.
This infectious disease is characterized by the appearance of rashes, which can be painful, especially if they are located on sensitive areas such as the genitals.
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