Canada confirms first two cases of monkeypox

Toronto (Canada), May 20 (EFE). – Canadian health authorities Thursday night confirmed the country’s first two cases of monkeypox, both in the city of Montreal, and said 20 more cases are under investigation.

Public Health Canada (PHAC) and the Quebec Ministry of Health said in two statements that tests conducted by the National Microbiology Laboratory with samples from two patients confirmed the first two cases of the disease.

This is the first time that a disease caused by a virus endemic to Central and West Africa from which isolated cases have been detected in the past in the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel and Singapore, has been detected in Canada.

In recent days, individuals in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain have been diagnosed with the disease.

PHAC added that it is working with other health agencies to investigate possible new cases of monkeypox in the country.

For its part, the Quebec Ministry of Health estimated at 20 the number of possible cases being investigated in the Canadian province.

On Wednesday, the US authorities monitored a case of a man residing in the northeastern state of Massachusetts, who had recently traveled to Montreal.

Montreal’s director of public health, Dr. Mylene Drouin, revealed Thursday morning that medical authorities have identified 17 probable cases of monkeypox in the city.

Darwin added that the disclosure in the United States of the patient’s condition, who contracted the disease after traveling to Montreal, alerted the Canadian authorities to the situation.

PHAC said in a statement that it is working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Quebec to investigate potential exposure and contacts of the case discovered in Massachusetts.

Experts explained that transmission of monkeypox virus occurs through close and prolonged contact with body fluids, respiratory droplets, or by sharing clothing from an infected person. EFE

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