Province reports 21 monkeypox cases in Ottawa

Public Health Ontario is reporting 21 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ottawa, the second-highest number of cases in the province behind Toronto.

As of Thursday, the province had confirmed 288 cases of the virus, with 220 in Toronto. All but one of the 288 cases confirmed since May 20 have been in men. Nine people in Ontario have been hospitalized because of the virus, including two in intensive care. No one who has contracted monkeypox in Ontario has died.

Although cases have mostly been identified among men who report sexual or intimate contact with other men, anyone can get monkeypox. The most commonly reported risk factors include engaging in sexual or intimate contact with new partners and/or more than one partner.

The province reported five new cases in Ottawa between Tuesday and Thursday. The province has also confirmed one case in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and one case in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark. There have been no confirmed cases in Renfrew County or in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington health units, according to the latest available data.

The World Health Organization says the expanding outbreak of monkeypox is now a global emergency. 

Ottawa Public Health has administered more than 1,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine locally. More details about who is eligible for vaccination and where to get it can be found on OPH’s website.

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus found in some wildlife species of central and western Africa. In the past several weeks, it has been spreading around the globe, affecting more than 16,000 people in more than 70 countries.

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.