Faced with the resurgence of cases of COPD in Africa, the World Health Organization on Wednesday triggered its highest level of alert at the international level. For the moment, the most severe strain of the virus is sparing other continents. But, on a global scale, diseases can spread quickly. The Duty spoke with the medical director of the Quebec Public Health Laboratory, Dr.D Judith Fafard, to take stock of the situation in the world and in Quebec.
What are the symptoms?
The virus that causes COPD causes a “rash” that usually starts near the genitals and mouth and then spreads.
“It starts with bumps on the skin, called papules, which turn into vesicles, so bumps that start to have liquid inside them,” explains the medical director of the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec, Dr.D Judith Fafard. Then, this liquid becomes “cloudy”, and forms “pustules” slightly “sunken in the middle”.
People with the virus may also have headache, fever, swollen glands or feel weak.
Is the virus circulating in Quebec?
As of August 12, 164 cases of mpox have been reported in Canada since the beginning of 2024. The outbreaks have been concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia, says Dr.D Fafard. Since January 2024, 10 cases have been detected in Quebec.
To date, no cases of clade 1b have been detected in Canada. Only one traveller with clade 1b mpox has been detected outside of the African continent, in Sweden.
This is the strain of the virus that is the most “severe.” For example, clade 2b, which was circulating in industrialized countries in 2022, had a mortality rate “less than 0.1%,” says the DD Fafard. Clade 1b, which is currently circulating in Africa, has a mortality rate of around 4%, or even 11% in children. However, this rate could change in industrialized countries, the expert specifies, since access to care is not the same.
“It is very possible that the virus will leave African countries,” adds Judith Fafard, stressing that recent years have shown us that tropical diseases can travel quickly. “On the other hand, everyone is on alert, [et] Even if we are dealing with a different clade, possibly more severe, the same prevention measures and the same management are applicable.
Two years ago, Montreal was the epicenter of a mpox epidemic during which approximately 527 cases were reported in the province.
But the DD Fafard believes that Quebec is now “better equipped” to deal with a potential spread of the virus. “We are monitoring the situation closely. Our clinicians are very well equipped to recognize the disease,” she said, adding that approximately 40,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Quebec since the summer of 2022, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community.
How is it transmitted?
People who test positive for the virus that causes COPD are contagious until the scabs formed above the lesions have fallen off.
Unlike COVID-19, the virus is not transmitted through the “air,” although it can circulate through “droplets during close contact.”
MPOX is spread rather “by skin-to-skin contact”, the duration of a hug, explains the medical director of the Quebec Public Health Laboratory.
Contamination from an object would be “surprising,” adds the expert. The virus can survive on this type of surface, but since the symptoms “rarely go unnoticed,” cases are “quickly” identified and isolated.
“We are keeping a close eye on the evolution of this epidemic to be able to adjust. But, as we speak, we are not at all in the same paradigm as COVID,” reassures Dr.D Fafard: “There is no reason for ordinary people to be afraid of going to public places.”
Who are the people most at risk?
Currently, in Canada, clade 2b circulates primarily within the LGBTQ+ community.
This population is therefore invited to receive two doses of the vaccine, 28 days apart, to protect themselves. If a person has been vaccinated only once in 2022, it remains effective to get a second dose two years later, specifies Judith Fafard.
However, the booster dose is not currently recommended by the Quebec Immunization Committee. Those who have received two doses since 2022 are still immunized.
However, anyone can contract and transmit the virus that causes COPD, Dr.D Fafard: “Sexual orientation does not make us more or less likely to catch a virus.”
In Africa, clade 1b “affects the heterosexual population, women and children,” she says.
If this strain of the virus were to arrive in Canada, the transmission networks could be different. “If this is the case, prevention messages will be adjusted accordingly.”