Public Health Canada (PHAC) announced the first detected case of monkeypox in Ontario on Thursday.
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This is the 26th case discovered, but the first outside Quebec, where all infections have been found so far.
“It is likely that additional cases will be reported in the coming days as NML continues to receive samples from multiple jurisdictions for confirmatory testing,” the official statement read.
Cases of the virus are now reported in more than 20 countries around the world.
Of the 11 African countries where this rare disease is endemic, three are currently focusing the most confirmed cases: the United Kingdom, the first country where unusual cases were detected in early May (71 cases), Spain (51) and Portugal (37), according to the ECDC.
The virus is not highly contagious, and appears to spread only through close and/or prolonged contact.
Currently, the risk of infection for the general population is low. However, the virus responsible for monkeypox can infect anyone in close contact with an infected person or contaminated objects,” PHAC reassured Primary Health Care Center.
