Quebec probing 13 suspected monkeypox cases

MONTREAL • The health authorities in Canada's Quebec province are investigating more than a dozen suspected cases of monkeypox, a rare but potentially serious virus, public broadcaster CBC reported.

The public health authorities in the Quebec city of Montreal are investigating at least 13 cases, CBC reported on Wednesday, adding that they were flagged after diagnoses were made in several clinics specialising in sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.

Confirmation is expected in the coming days, said the broadcaster.

The United States on Wednesday also confirmed a case of monkeypox in a man who had recently travelled to Canada, after European health officials confirmed dozens of cases earlier this week.

The news came as Italy yesterday reported its first case of monkeypox.

Monkeypox was identified in a young adult who had recently returned from the Canary Islands, Rome's Spallanzani Institute for infectious diseases said. Two other suspected cases were being investigated.

The illness often starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle ache and swollen lymph nodes before causing a chicken pox-like rash on the face and body, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The disease can spread by contact with the bodily fluids or sores of an infected person or "shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated", according to the CDC, adding that household disinfectants can kill the virus.

Many of the reported cases, including clusters detected over the past two weeks in Portugal, Spain and Britain - where monkeypox is uncommon - "are occurring within sexual networks", said Dr Inger Damon, a poxvirus expert with the CDC, in an agency statement.

Several of the European cases have been detected in men who have sex with men, though the CDC underscored that "anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox".

Since May 6, nine cases of monkeypox have been detected in the United Kingdom, the UK Health Security Agency said on Wednesday.

The agency said recent cases were "predominantly" in gays, bisexuals or "men who have sex with men". "We are particularly urging men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay if they have concerns," it said.

Spain and Portugal also announced earlier on Wednesday that they had identified more than 40 suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox.

Africa's top public health agency said yesterday that several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the Covid-19 pandemic while the world's attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the US are a concern.

Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said outbreaks had been seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. They had been contained "under the radar", he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG