Canadian government to ship vaccines to Quebec after 27 confirmed or probable monkeypox cases
The federal government is sending vaccines and other "therapeutics" to Quebec to deal with a recent outbreak of monkeypox in the province that has grown to 27 confirmed or probable cases.
Canada's Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced late Tuesday evening the total number of confirmed cases has risen by 10 in Quebec, the first known hot-spot in the country and the only province to confirm positive infections of the rare disease.
The country's first two cases were confirmed in Quebec last Thursday. The number grew to five the following day.
On Wednesday, Montreal's public health chief said that the city now has 13 confirmed cases and 14 more suspected cases, for a total of 27 in the Montreal area alone.
In Toronto, health officials said Wednesday that of three confirmed or probable monkeypox cases there, two of the patients had either travelled to Montreal or had contact with someone who did.
The cases in Canada prompted a meeting over the weekend with the chief medical officers of health to come up with a plan, including clinical responses to the outbreak.
"This includes the pre-positioning of the vaccine Imvamune and therapeutics from our National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS) in jurisdictions across the country - starting with Quebec which has accepted our offer to receive a small shipment of Imvamune vaccine today to support their targeted response," Duclos said in a news release Tuesday evening.
The minister said the government will release updated guidance on infection control in the coming days and weeks, including "isolation advice," and sought to reassure Canadians that this outbreak is not the same situation as the early days of COVID-19.
"While global understanding of the monkeypox virus is still evolving, we do have a supply of vaccines, which we will be sure to maintain, and we are working hand-in-hand with our provincial and territorial counterparts to rollout our response plan as quickly as possible," Duclos said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also set to release some Jynneos vaccine doses to treat infected people in that country. However, a World Health Organization official said he doesn't believe there's a need for mass vaccination against monkeypox like what was seen with the coronavirus pandemic.
Richard Pebody, who leads the high-threat pathogen team at WHO Europe, told Reuters that good hygiene and "safe sexual behaviour" can be enough to limit the spread of the virus that causes monkeypox.
One Ontario infectious disease specialist said that using the "ring approach" to vaccination could do the trick, meaning vaccinating all the infected people and their close contacts.
"That way you make sure that it doesn't spread out of that ring," Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease physician at Sinai Health, told CTV News Channel.
Monkeypox spreads through prolonged and close contact and comes from the same family of viruses linked to smallpox, another viral disease that was eradicated through vaccination in the 1980s.
Symptoms of monkeypox include lesions on the mouth or genitals, which usually are preceded by fever, night sweats, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and joint or muscle pain.
Quebec's health ministry recommends people who have been in close contact with a suspected case or someone with similar symptoms to watch for symptoms for 21 days and to avoid sexual contact. If symptoms arise, people are advised to get tested by a health-care professional.
-- With files from Reuters and CTV News' Patrick Rail
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.