Canadian health officials are calling for caution after the discovery monkey pox cases in the country and elsewhere in the world.
As of Friday, five cases have been confirmed and about two dozen other cases are under investigation, mainly in Quebec, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Dr Theresa Tam, director of public health, said while the risk of infection in the general population is low, it is not clear how widespread the disease is in Canada.
“We can expect to hear more confirmations in the coming hours and days,” she told reporters during a virtual press conference.
Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic disease that can be transmitted by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids, sores or lesions on the skin, and/or respiratory droplets.
Sharing clothes, bedding, or shared items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores from an infected person can also spread the virus. according to PHAC.
Prevention and vaccination
To reduce the risk of infection, PHAC is advising physical distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing of face masks – all measures that have been used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is no specific vaccine for monkeypox, which belongs to the same family of viruses as the variola virus, which causes smallpox.
Smallpox vaccination has been shown to be 85% effective in preventing smallpox in monkeys, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Canada, which has a small stockpile of smallpox vaccine, is considering using these shots for monkeypox.
On Friday, Dr. Tam did not disclose how many doses of the smallpox vaccine Canada has, for security reasons.
Canada discontinued routine immunization against smallpox in 1972.
At this time, experts are not recommending vaccination for the general population, but instead a “loop vaccination campaign” around close contacts of confirmed cases and are prioritizing those high-risk group.
What to do when infected?
There are two stages to the development of monkeypox symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes, and lesions throughout the body.
Donald Vinh, infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at McGill University Medical Center (MUHC), during the first stage known as the “invasive phase,” a person can fever, sore throat and cough.
Within a week, a rash or skin lesions, filled with fluid, begin to develop.
The incubation period, which is the time from exposure to the onset of symptoms, is between five and 21 days, said Dr Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the UCLA School of Public Health.
She told Global News.
McGill’s Vinh said infected individuals should isolate for about three weeks, as should those potentially exposed to a confirmed or suspected case.
If you are a suspected case or have symptoms, you should contact regional public health authorities, he added.
People with symptoms will be directed to a medical evaluation to determine if they have the disease.
Vinh recommends that any object or surface that may come into contact with respiratory droplets or skin lesions of an infected person should be properly disinfected.
What treatments are available?
There are no specific drugs available to treat monkeypox, but smallpox antivirals can be used as a treatment.
“There are drugs or drugs being developed that seem to give some effect to a cousin of monkeypox, which is smallpox or other chickenpox viruses, but again, we really don’t have the same evidence that they will work for monkeypox at this point,” Vinh said.
WHO says monkeypox patients should be given fluids and food “to maintain adequate nutritional status.”
The antiviral agent tecovirmat developed for smallpox is considered a treatment for monkeypox in Europe and the United States.
The US CDC has also listed cidofovir, brincidofovir, and immunization immunoglobulin (VIG) are treatment options.
Skin damage can lead to pneumonia, dehydration, and bacterial superinfection.
In those cases, the patient may receive supportive care such as antibiotics, fluids, and pain medication.
– With files from Global News ‘Jamie Mauracher and The Canadian Press
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