![]() ![]() ![]() David Heymann, who once headed WHO's emergencies department, said the leading theory to explain the spread of the disease is sexual transmission among gay and bisexual men at two raves held in Spain and Belgium. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Dr. To date, the WHO has identified at least 550 monkeypox cases in 30 countries worldwide where the virus is not believed to be endemic. ![]() The emergence of this virus in Western countries has confounded researchers. Historically, most cases have been reported in the Congo Basin. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas. But that shot has not been in circulation in Canada for decades because smallpox was eradicated here in the late 1940s. Smallpox and monkeypox belong to the same family of viruses and the smallpox vaccine has proven effective against monkeypox in the past. Tam said Canada has a stockpile of smallpox shots ready to deploy to other parts of the country, if necessary. The province has started vaccinating the close contacts of infected people - a so-called "ring vaccination" approach to prevent a wider outbreak. Quebec appears to be an epicentre of this outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued public health advice to gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men last week, urging the community to be on the lookout for certain symptoms - a rash leaving blisters on the face, hands, feet, eyes and mouth, fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, muscle aches and a lack of energy. "At the moment it hasn't gone beyond the initial risk groups, but it could happen and we need to be ready for that," she said. She said governments must "act fast" to "stop the chains of transmission" and prevent the virus from spreading further. With that caveat, Tam said it's important that public health officials "learn from the HIV experience" and "involve communities right from the start that are most impacted." Monkeypox warnings 'went ignored,' and now world must brace for more outbreaks: scientists.1 case of monkeypox confirmed in Alberta.Toronto confirms 3 more monkeypox cases, bringing city's total to 5. ![]()
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