Public Health Ontario is reporting 230 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province, most of which are recorded in Toronto.
The toll as of Monday is up 74 cases from the previous week.
In Quebec, 320 cases of monkeypox have been reported as of Tuesday, up 21 cases from the previous Health Quebec report of July 13.
The update from Public Health Ontario says the cases are largely in southern Ontario, with 172 cases in Toronto, as well as one in Sudbury and one in North Bay.
One of the confirmed cases is in a woman – which was reported last week – and the rest of those affected are men with an average age of 37.
Public health says most of the cases are in men who say they have had intimate contact with men, but reminds that anyone can get monkeypox.
The Ontario update says nine people have been hospitalized with the illness and one person has been in intensive care.
There are also eight probable cases of monkeypox in Ontario, all in men between the ages of 31 and 69.
Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer, recently said monkeypox is likely to be present for “several months” due to its long incubation period, but noted that Ontario is not experiencing not a rapid growth of the virus.
The virus usually does not spread easily and is transmitted by prolonged close contact via respiratory droplets, direct contact with broken skin or bodily fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.
Common symptoms include skin rashes, mouth and genital sores, and swollen lymph nodes.
Monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have been shown to be effective in combating the monkey pox.
Local public health units in Ontario hold vaccination clinics for people the province deems to be at high risk of contracting monkeypox.
Moore said the province isn’t looking to expand its vaccination strategy at this time because “it seems to be working.”
