Montreal is no longer the epicenter of the monkeypox pandemic in Canada, federal public health confirmed Friday. 511 cases have been reported in Ontario, compared to 426 in Quebec.
These two provinces host the overwhelming majority of the 1,049 cases in Canada today. Of these individuals, 91 are in British Columbia, 19 in Alberta, 3 in Saskatchewan and 2 in the Yukon.
“At the beginning, it was really an outbreak concentrated in Montreal, and also in Toronto. But we also have maintenance of cases reported outside the two big cities, ”explained the Deputy Chief Federal Public Health Officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, in a press briefing on Friday.
This is changing the strategic approach to vaccination in the country, he explains. It is no longer just a question of immunizing people in contact with reported cases, or even people in the most affected neighborhoods, such as the Village in Montreal.
“Now we’re thinking maybe it’s better to offer the vaccine to people who are from the MSM community, men who have sex with men, sexually active, everywhere. No longer just in Montreal and Toronto, but everywhere, in the other provinces and territories,” he continued.
About 99% of people infected with monkeypox are men, with an average age of 35 years. The majority of them have sex with other men. However, warns Public Health, anyone can catch the disease during close contact with an infected person.
“Warning signs” of a stalling monkeypox epidemic are being seen in Canada, according to Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer. “Cases are no longer increasing as fast as they were increasing at the beginning” of the wave of cases, she explained on Friday.
A few weeks ago, the number of cases of monkeypox doubled every 11 to 12 days, whereas this period is now more around 17 to 16 days, specialists have calculated. However, it is “a little early” to claim victory, since cases are still increasing, at different rates in different provinces.
A special advisory committee on monkeypox has been set up by the federal government, on a model similar to that created for the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government also funds community organizations in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa to provide information to the most at-risk clientele.