Ten new monkeypox cases confirmed in Toronto, 33 total cases in Ontario
Posted June 22, 2022 3:28 pm.
Last Updated June 25, 2022 8:16 pm.
Public Health Ontario (PHO) confirmed 10 new cases of monkeypox in Toronto.
The agency says there are now 33 confirmed cases of the virus in the province as of Monday, and that 28 of those (84.8 per cent) are in Toronto.
That is an increase from Friday when Toronto Public Health (TPH) confirmed 18 cases in the city.
PHO says there are 11 probable cases and 34 suspect cases. These 45 probable and suspect cases include 11 women and 34 men ranging in age from over 20 to 71 years.
All of the confirmed cases in the province are male, with an average age of 40.
Monkeypox positive case data as of June 20 in Ontario. Courtesy: Public Health Ontario.
The most commonly reported symptoms are rash, oral/genital lesions, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, chills, myalgia and fatigue.
The city is hosting ongoing vaccination clinics to immunize high-risk individuals, including men who have sex with men.
RELATED: Toronto health leaders working to stop monkeypox misconceptions, LGBTQ2S+ community stigma
Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in combating the monkeypox virus.
According to the Government of Canada, a vaccine was first developed to prevent smallpox but officials said a number of observational studies found the shot was around 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox.
They also noted being vaccinated against smallpox could result in a milder case of monkeypox.
Monkeypox generally does not spread easily between people and is transmitted through prolonged close contact via respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or bodily fluids, or through contaminated clothes or bedding.
Signs of the virus can develop anytime between five and 21 days and symptoms typically start between one and two weeks.
The rare disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared eradicated around the globe in 1980.
Québec has reported 171 cases of monkeypox to date.
With files from The Canadian Press and Nick Westoll of CityNews
