Canadian government to ship vaccines to Quebec after 27 confirmed or probable monkeypox cases
Canadian government to ship vaccines to Quebec after 27 confirmed or probable monkeypox cases
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
An Ontario community is reeling after a 23-month-old boy died when he was accidentally left in a hot car outside the school where his mother taught, the mayor says.
Group of Seven leaders considered a possible cap on the price of Russian gas exports on Monday as a way to put the squeeze on the funding for Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine.
City of Ottawa staff and the Ottawa Police Service are ensuring residents that planned protests on Canada Day will not devolve into the kind of occupation that residents endured this past winter.
Russian long-range bombers fired a missile that struck a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, raising fears of what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an 'unimaginable' number of victims in 'one of the most disastrous terrorist attacks in European history.'
Organizers of a central Alberta rodeo and its parade committee are calling for calm after a float in this weekend's parade, which possessed a racist theme, was seen in the procession.
An Ontario community is reeling after a 23-month-old boy died when he was accidentally left in a hot car outside the school where his mother taught, the mayor says.
Nova Scotia is expanding eligibility for second COVID-19 booster doses to include anyone aged 50 and over, however health officials are suggesting people wait to book appointments until the fall.
After a weekend full of rallies and protests across North America, the outrage after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade hasn’t died down.
The Special Investigations Unit has found that a London police officer did not commit a criminal offence in the shooting death of tennis coach Justin Bourassa last October.
Four London teenagers are facing charges Monday for their alleged involvement after a police officer was assaulted and knives and drugs were seized over the weekend, according to police.
An Ontario community is reeling after a 23-month-old boy died when he was accidentally left in a hot car outside the school where his mother taught, the mayor says.
OPP say an arrest warrant has been issued for a 20-year old Hamilton man after a man was shot late Friday night on Manitoulin Island and later died from his injuries.
It was a historic win for the Colorado Avalanche last night as they dethroned the reigning champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, to claim their third Stanley Cup.
As eviction day at a downtown Kitchener encampment looms, the region is doubling down that no one will be forcibly removed from the site on June 30 – the date it has said everyone living there must leave by.
The Sturrock brothers describe their cat Tigger – a two-year-old Bengal – as a "ferocious beast" who stares down and scares off even the largest neighbourhood dogs. But last week, the fearless feline took things to a whole new level.
Three people accused of mischief and break-and-enter in relation to an Abbotsford hog farm pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of their jury trial on Monday.
A public demand that Alberta stick with the RCMP has been signed by 32 towns, 22 villages, seven organizations, six counties, three summer villages, two other municipalities and The City of Wetaskiwin.
A Sherwood Park masseuse who was charged earlier this year after a girl reported being sexually assaulted during a massage appointment is facing additional charges after 13 more victims came forward.
Staff and volunteers at Divine Mercy Food Bank on Wyandotte Street East are hoping for a miracle after they say they were broken into early Monday morning.
Businesses in the downtown area are excited for their sales to shoot up as the Ford Fireworks return to the Detroit River for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A seven-year-old Regina boy is being treated for serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle at a bus stop in Regina on June 21, according to an online fundraiser.
An extra bit of colour and flair has been popping up around the Queen City lately, thanks to a community-led initiative called the Audacity Mural Project, which has a goal of commissioning 25 murals across the city by 2025.
City of Ottawa staff and the Ottawa Police Service are ensuring residents that planned protests on Canada Day will not devolve into the kind of occupation that residents endured this past winter.
The city's director of rail operations pushed back against claims political pressure led to the LRT being launched before it was ready during the third week of testimony at the public inquiry into the problem-plagued system.
Holiday Park Golf Course turned 60 years old on Monday morning, and just like the day it first opened when Mayor Sid Buckwold took the first swing, Mayor Charlie Clark was on hand to tee off with a couple of shots.
