Montreal public health officials confirmed Wednesday one case of monkeypox in a child under the age of four.
Officials say the case was confirmed through two PCR tests at the Quebec Public Health Laboratory, but would not provide further details on the specific case due to privacy concerns.
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"To date, worldwide, the majority of cases among children have been acquired through contact within the same household," explains Marianne Paquette, a spokesperson with the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. "The epidemiological investigation has been completed for this case, and all necessary interventions to protect the health of the population have been implemented."
Quebec has reported a total of 493 monkeypox cases since the virus made its way to the province.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) adds there are 1,228 cases in nine provinces, with 35 hospitalizations and no deaths.
Monkeypox is typically transmitted through close, prolonged contact with an infected person.
Montreal public health officials note people are considered at risk when:
- their skin or mucous membrane are in direct contact with skin lesions or biological fluids of a positive case;
- they are in contact with surfaces and objects contaminated by the biological fluids of a positive case;
- they have face-to-face contact of less than one metre for three or more hours without a procedural mask with a positive case.
Symptoms can include rash, swollen lymph nodes and fever.
Health officials stress that anyone can become infected and transmit the monkeypox virus, and it is not related to sexuality at all.
