Should B.C. be vaccinating against monkeypox?

With efforts ongoing to vaccinate people against monkeypox in parts of Ontario and Quebec, one infectious disease expert says expanding immunization in other provinces doesn’t seem to be necessary just yet.

So far, Canada has reported more than 160 cases of the virus in recent weeks. The brunt of those infections are reported in Quebec, where more than 140 cases have been identified.

Vaccine clinics in Quebec and Ontario are mainly focused on people who are close contacts of someone with monkeypox, as well as people who are at higher risk of catching the virus.

But Brian Conway, head of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, says in provinces where only a handful of cases — or no cases — have been confirmed, such campaigns don’t seem to be needed right now.

“It doesn’t seem to be spreading significantly in British Columbia. My sense is we’re watching and let’s see what happens going forward,” he explained.

However, Conway notes we can’t let our guard down — even if there are few cases.

“We’re on the lookout,” he said. “I think we need to be very vigilant and have the public-health response implemented for now as a response to the local spread of the virus.”

Although many recent infections around the world have been among young men who have sex with other men, the virus can affect anyone through close person-to-person contact.

There have been concerns about how monkeypox is being described, with fears over possible stigmatization. Some people have likened certain characterizations of virus spread to the stigmatization of gay men during the HIV/AIDS crisis, especially in the 1980s.

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• Monkeypox outbreaks prompt concern over possible stigma

As of Tuesday, more than 3,000 people had been vaccinated as part of a campaign in Montreal. The vaccine being used is the one against smallpox — which is in the same virus family as monkeypox. The World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated around the globe in 1980.

Santé Montréal, the health authority in that city, says the vaccine being offered to fight the spread of monkeypox “reduces or prevents symptoms.” It is offering the shot to people who, in the past two weeks, have had direct contact — skin-to-skin — with someone who is a confirmed or probable case, as well as people who have had direct contact with objects or bedding that may be contaminated with the virus.

People who have had “physical contact at less than a metre with someone who has monkeypox (confirmed or probable case), when not wearing a mask and for at least three hours (total over a 24-hour period),” are also being offered the jab.

Symptoms of monkeypox include lesions or a rash, fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes.

Anyone who has any signs or symptoms is being asked to report them to their health-care provider.

-With files from Rebecca Johnstone and CityNews Montreal staff