(Montreal) The Montreal Regional Public Health Department will provide an update on Thursday morning regarding the suspected presence of monkeypox cases in Montreal.
Posted at 7:03 a.m.
The regional director of public health for Montreal, DD Mylène Drouin, and the medical officer for health emergencies and infectious diseases, DD Geneviève Bergeron, will answer questions from journalists starting at 11 a.m.
On Wednesday, Radio-Canada reported that several cases of monkey pox are being studied in the metropolis.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease of the smallpox family, but more benign. It can be transmitted by respiratory droplets, by contact with bodily fluids, or by contact with an infected animal or animal products.
Massachusetts state authorities on Wednesday reported a case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada. Health authorities are investigating whether this case is linked to other outbreaks in Europe.
Monkeypox is generally restricted to Africa, and the rare cases seen elsewhere in the world are usually related to travel to that region. A small number of confirmed or suspected cases have been reported this month in the UK, Portugal and Spain.
US health authorities said they were in contact with authorities in the UK and Canada as part of the investigation. But “at this time, we have no information to link the Massachusetts case to the UK cases,” said Jennifer McQuiston, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC).
The U.S. case poses no risk to the public, and the Massachusetts resident is hospitalized but in good health, health authorities said.
Symptoms of monkeypox usually begin with flu-like illness and swollen lymph nodes, followed by a generalized rash on the face and body, according to the CDC.
Most infections last two to four weeks. Infections with this strain of monkeypox are fatal in about 1 in 100 infected people, but the death rate may be higher in immunocompromised people.
With the Associated Press