The first two cases of monkey pox, also called monkey pox, were detected in Quebec, while some twenty others are now under investigation.
Posted at 7:03 a.m.
Updated at 8:34 p.m.
This was announced by the Ministry of Health and Social Services on Thursday evening, a few hours after the Regional Public Health Department (DRSP) of Montreal confirmed that it was investigating 17 suspected cases of monkeypox in the Grand Montreal. Of this number, 15 had been identified in the metropolis, one on the south crown and another on the north crown. The MSSS did not specify where the three new suspected cases came from.
“Epidemiological investigations are continuing to determine the links between the declared cases and identify contacts potentially at risk and inform them of protective measures”, it was however specified.
People infected, mainly men between 30 and 55 years old, present with genital and oral ulcerations, as well as painful lymph nodes. “Most cases are not severe,” said Dr.D Mylène Drouin, regional director of public health for Montreal, at a press conference Thursday morning.
The two confirmed cases in Quebec are the first in the country, the Public Health Agency of Canada later announced, which analyzed the samples at the National Microbiology Laboratory.
Call for vigilance
All of the infected men are part of the MSM community, that is, men who have had sex with men. “It’s not a sexually transmitted disease. It could have happened with a person who had a heterosexual sexual relationship, ”clarified the DD Drouin.
“However, now that cases have been identified here, Quebec is able to act quickly to monitor and control the evolution of the situation,” said the MSSS, Thursday evening. In particular, calls for vigilance have been sent to health professionals in the event that they identify patients with symptoms that may be similar to those of monkeypox.
These possible cases will now have to be reported to their regional public health department.
Human-to-human transmission of this disease can occur through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin or internal mucosal surfaces, and respiratory droplets. Its contagiousness is therefore considered limited compared to other viruses such as influenza or COVID-19. Authorities are investigating the possibility that some infections were transmitted through close contact during sex.
Various symptoms
The first cases were reported by clinics specializing in STBBIs on May 12. “It is a very rare disease, so at that time, we thought it was more chancroids, linked to a bacterium”, indicates the DD Drouin.
It was five days later, when the DRSP was notified by the Public Health Agency of Canada of a suspected case of monkeypox in the United States that had visited Montreal, that the specialists changed their investigation trajectory. .
The most common symptoms of this infection are fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. Rashes can also occur, often on the face, and spread to other parts of the body, including the genitals. Monkeypox can sometimes be mistaken for a sexually transmitted infection.
No treatment
There is no cure for monkeypox, but the viral infection is self-limiting. Symptoms usually disappear on their own within 14 to 21 days. The smallpox vaccine, given to Canadians until 1971, is more than 85% effective against the monkeypox virus, according to Government of Canada data.
Monkeypox is generally restricted to Africa, and the rare cases seen elsewhere in the world are usually related to travel to that region. However, since the beginning of May, nine cases have been identified in the United Kingdom. Spain and Portugal also announced on Wednesday that they had recorded more than 40 possible or confirmed cases.
On Thursday, Italy and Sweden, in turn, announced their first confirmed case of monkeypox.
With Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press