B.C. confirms zero known monkeypox cases after investigation

B.C. has confirmed there are no known cases of monkeypox in the province after an investigation.

Earlier in the day, Canada’s top doctor said B.C. was investigating two cases of monkeypox.

Dr. Theresa Tam had said Friday morning public health was waiting on an update from the province to confirm the cases.

“I would say just under a couple of dozen people [are under] investigation by local authorities, mainly in Quebec, but a couple of contacts [are] being followed up in British Columbia as well,” Tam said.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control later confirmed there are no suspected cases or contacts with the viral disease.

“Public health interviewed two individuals but upon investigation it was determined that they were not considered contacts of cases as they had not been exposed,” a statement reads.

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Five cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Quebec, including three that were confirmed by Canada’s public health agency Thursday evening.

“This is unusual. It’s unusual for the world to see this many cases reported in different countries outside of Africa,” Tam said.

This evening, #PHAC has notified @sante_qc that an additional 3 samples have tested positive for #monkeypox. There are now five confirmed cases in Canada ????????. pic.twitter.com/rnV9suByIA

— Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) May 20, 2022

Montreal Public Health Director Dr. Mylène Drouin spoke to reporters earlier on Thursday.

“We do not have to panic at the time we are speaking,” Dr. Drouin said. “It’s not something you can acquire when you’re at the grocery store or on public transportation.”

She says it cannot spread through the community that way, and it is not a sexually transmitted disease.

At the time of Drouin’s news conference, only two cases had been confirmed. She said all the cases under investigation were doing well, health-wise.

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox, the U.S. CDC says. (Courtesy: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Public health diffused an alert to all Montreal-area physicians to declare all suspected cases so public health can understand more about the transmission rate.

All cases are isolating. Anyone who lives with the suspected cases or whose sexual partner is infected is being asked to monitor their symptoms for 21 days and see a doctor if more develops.

Concern level is low at this point: Expert

As cases of monkeypox pop up around the world, an expert says at this point the concern level is relatively low.

Dr. Stephen Hoption Cann with the School of Population and Public Health at UBC, says monkeypox is a milder version of smallpox.

While people generally get better after a few weeks, it’s quite an unpleasant experience, with large pocks on your body, mixed with fever and fatigue.

“These lesions can develop all over the body, but it can also develop on the genitals or in the mouth. So that close contact with individuals or sexual contact with a large number of individuals over a short period of time can lead to larger spread of the disease,” he explained.

While Hoption Cann says there have been outbreaks in Africa previously with 10 per cent fatality rates, he says we have a different population and resources here.

He says if you had the smallpox vaccine in the early 70s or before, you will have some level of protection against monkeypox.

Hoption Cann ensures monkeypox is “not a disease easily spread.”

“This is not like the next COVID … It’s something that you need, close, close, personal contact with.”

Read More: Monkeypox: What is it? Q&A with infectious diseases specialist

Monkeypox is a viral disease usually spread by touching or bites by infected wild animals like rats or squirrels in western and central Africa. The disease is relatively rare in Europe and North America.

Human-to-human transmission can occur through contact with bodily fluids, skin lesions, internal mucosal surfaces, and respiratory droplets.

“Right now, I can’t tell you the exact impact. But I think anyone who have developed some signs and symptoms, including these blisters or ulcerative rashes, and are concerned, should seek advice from their health care provider,” Tam suggested. “I think at the beginning of any outbreak, we should cast the net wide to try and understand the transmission routes. We don’t understand it enough. There’s probably been some hidden chains of transmission that could have occurred for quite a number of weeks, given the sort of global situation that we’re seeing right now.”

With files from The Canadian Press