A few dozen other suspected cases of monkeypox are under investigation in Canada, most of them from Quebec, the chief federal public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said Friday.
So far, two cases have been confirmed, after authorities in the state of Massachusetts reported a case of monkeypox in a man who had stayed in Montreal.
Among the other possible cases that remain to be confirmed in the country, Dr. Tam said that several contacts in British Columbia are being closely monitored.
“We don’t really know the extent of the spread that has occurred in Canada,” she said, adding that she expects more cases to be confirmed on Friday or the following days.
Currently, all cases of this disease, whose symptoms include pustules and fever, are validated at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. Discussions are underway among the lab network across the country to see how to increase diagnostic capacity in other locations, Dr. Tam said.
Deputy Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Howard Njoo has raised the possibility that larger provinces and those with better technological arrangements may be prioritized, initially, although it is too early to say. which ones.
As to whether the smallpox vaccine could soon be used against monkeypox, Dr. Njoo did not advance except to say that the matter is being studied with Quebec counterparts.
“For the moment, we have a few doses (in the bank) and we are always ready. We are currently discussing with the province of Quebec for the possible use, ”he summarized.
Above all, he insisted on the major efforts to be made, in Canada and elsewhere in the world, to update the guidelines for the use of this vaccine according to the new possible context of use.