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Eight new monkeypox cases confirmed in Ottawa, with 1 more probable case

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Public Health Ontario is reporting eight new confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ottawa in the last week.

Updated data, released Wednesday, show 31 confirmed cases and one probable case in the nation's capital, up from 23 confirmed cases last week.

Ottawa's health unit has the second highest number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the province behind Toronto.

Provincial officials say there are 423 total confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province, up from 326 last week. Of those, 329 are reported by Toronto Public Health. All but two of the confirmed cases in the province are in men.

No new hospitalizations linked to monkeypox were reported in Ontario in the last week. To date, Public Health Ontario has confirmed 11 hospitalizations and 2 intensive care admissions for monkeypox since May 20.

The World Health Organization has called the spread of the virus a global emergency. Public Health Ontario identifies engaging in sexual or intimate contact (e.g., hugging, kissing, cuddling) with new and/or more than one partner as one of the most common risk factors for monkeypox in the province; however, officials stress that while most identified cases have affected men who have sex with men, anyone can get monkeypox.

Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headache, exhaustion and a rash that often appears on the face and the extremities a few days after symptoms begin. The virus may transmit to another person through contact to exposed skin, the respiratory tract or the eyes, nose or mouth.

From June 20 to August 2, Ottawa Public Health has administered 1,757 monkeypox vaccines. More details about who is eligible for a monkeypox vaccine and where to receive it can be found on OPH's website.

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