Dr. Luc Boileau, national director of public health, and Dr. Mylène Drouin, regional director of public health in Montreal, had invited the media on Tuesday followingnoon to take stock of the situation. This one is well controlled
they considered, rejoicing that there is no significant progression of the virus
.
The outbreak continues to disproportionately affect men who have sex with men. In fact,%”,”text”:”100%”}}”>100 % confirmed cases are from this community, said Dr. Drouin.
So far, three men have had to be hospitalized due to the illness, but their hospital stay has already ended. The others contracted a form mild disease
which manifests as pustules that turn into ulcers, mainly on the genitals
recalled Dr. Drouin.
People infected with the strain of monkeypox circulating these days in the West typically recover within three weeks, Dr. Boileau said.
Extended vaccination
More than 3,000 people at risk have been vaccinated to date out of a total of 40,000 doses made available by the federal government. But vaccination, which until now was reserved for close contacts of monkeypox cases and those who had activities that might put them at risk
will soon be expanded.
From now on, it will be offered to all those who plan to have such activities in the coming weeks, during the summer
. Dr. Drouin estimates that between 20,000 and 25,000 doses will be needed to do this.
« Men who plan to have sex in Montreal with other men – not necessarily with stable and unique partners, but really in contexts of socialization, events or sex work – we will invite this population to avoid vaccination. »
But why expand vaccination if the situation is well controlled
and that the vast majority of sufferers suffer from some form mild disease
?
Because summer is coming
thatthere will be festivities
that there will be plus d’occasions
and that more people will come to come visit Montreal
answers Dr. Drouin. In this context, we want to offer vaccination to a larger group
she explains.
Dr. Drouin also points out that monkeypox is transmitted by sustained intimate contact and not by simple droplets like COVID-19. Thus, participation in the many festivals organized in Montreal during the summer should not constitute a risk of contamination, according to her.
A international public health emergency
?
The release comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to declare a international public health emergency
the virus having been reported so far in 39 countries, including 32 where the disease is not endemic.
When questioned on the subject, however, Dr. Boileau declared that he did not see any contradiction
between the reassuring message launched Tuesday by Quebec public health and the more dramatic remarks made by theOMS the same day.
We know that there is an increase in cases, we see it in several European cities, he first established. Here, we also see it, but it is not an increase that skyrockets, and it is precisely because we have acted […] that we believe we are capable of containing that here, on Quebec territory, and in particular in Montreal.
Au Canada, Ontario, British Columbia et Alberta also recorded proven cases of monkeypox, but much less than in Quebec.
Canada among the most affected countries in the world
As of last Friday, theOMS had counted 1772 cases worldwide, without however deploring any deaths related to the disease.
Canada was the fifth most affected country, following the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Germany.
To fight the disease, the European Commission and the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic announced on Tuesday the conclusion of a contract for the purchase of more than 100,000 doses of vaccines once morest monkeypox, detected in 19 Member States as well as in Norway and Iceland.
More details will follow.
