Canada: 2022-2025 Mpox

[Pathfinder]

Mpox epidemiology update:

This summary of mpox cases across Canada contains detailed data about the spread of the virus over time and in different regions of the country.

• Last updated: 2025-02-28

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is working with provinces and territories to investigate cases of mpox in Canada. Provincial and territorial public health units report data on cases of mpox from their respective jurisdictions to PHAC on a monthly basis. Current counts represent cases reported as of February 28, 2025, 12 pm Eastern. We update this page monthly, on the last Friday of the month.

On this page

• Key updates
• Canadian case trends
  • Epidemic curve
  • Geographic spread
  • Case demographics
• Provincial, territorial and international mpox reporting
• Additional mpox resources

Key updates

The majority of mpox cases reported in Canada have been caused by clade IIb. So far, one case of clade Ib mpox virus has been detected in Canada. The following sections contain key information regarding mpox case counts, geographic distribution, and outcomes.


The tables and figures below reflect detailed case information provided to PHAC by provinces and territories. The data may change retroactively as we get more information about previously reported cases.

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https://health-infobase.canada.ca/mpox/

[sharon sanders]

Media Bulletin - Manitoba


November 22, 2024 Province Advises First Mpox Clade Lb Case Reported in Manitoba

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Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care is advising of the first confirmed case of clade lb mpox in the province, which is also the first case of clade I mpox in Canada. This is a travel-related case associated with an ongoing outbreak of clade I mpox in central and eastern Africa.

Due to the risk of identifying the individual, further identifying information will not be released. A public health investigation, including contact tracing, is ongoing.

The individual was assessed and diagnosed shortly after returning to Manitoba and is currently isolating. Based on travel history and symptoms, specimens were tested and confirmed by the National Microbiology Laboratory for clade Ib mpox virus.

There are two types of mpox, clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb). Clade II mpox has been circulating globally, including in Canada, since 2022. Clade I mpox has not previously been reported in Canada. Several cases of travel-associated subclade Ib have been reported in other countries, including recently in the United States.

Mpox is a rare disease caused by virus (MPXV), an orthopoxvirus related to vaccinia, cowpox and variola (smallpox) viruses. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever and other symptoms. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick. Either clade of mpox spreads from person to person, through close contact (including intimate or sexual contact, household contact, or providing care) with someone who has symptoms of mpox, through contact with contaminated materials, such as bed sheets or towels, and contact with infected animals.

Mpox does not spread easily between people unless there is close contact with someone who has symptoms. The overall risk to the general public is low.

Advice for travellers is available at https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/heal...th-notices/515.

As part of the global outbreak of clade ll mpox, people who are at greater risk of exposure to mpox can be immunized for pre-exposure prophylaxis. To determine eligibility, visit: https://gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/diseases/mpox.html.

People who need additional information about mpox or immunizations can contact their local public health office, their health-care provider or Health Links-Info Santé.

More information is also available at https://gov.mb.ca/health/publichealt...ases/mpox.html.

https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=66401&posted=2024-11-22

[Pathfinder]

Mpox (monkeypox): Update
...
Current situation

Canada

The risk to people in Canada from mpox (previously called monkeypox) remains low.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) works with provincial and territorial public health partners to monitor mpox in Canada.

There are 2 known subtypes (clades) of mpox virus: clade I and clade II. Clade I is divided into 2 subclades: clade Ia and Ib. Current reports suggest that clade II mpox is less severe than clade Ia.

Clade II is also divided into 2 subclades: clade IIa and clade IIb.

All mpox cases reported in Canada have been caused by clade IIb mpox virus. Cases continue to be detected and reported across Canada. Between January 1 and September 16, 2024, 255 cases were reported (251 confirmed and 4 probable). So far no cases of clade I have been identified in Canada.

Epidemiological patterns of mpox in Canada have remained consistent.

Most cases are among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

Most cases are acquired in Canada, suggesting ongoing localized transmission.

Hospitalizations are rare and no deaths have been reported.

We're monitoring an increase in case reports in some regions of Canada. This might be linked to increased travel and mass gathering events over the summer and fall. However, the number of cases being reported in Canada now is far below that of the peak of the summer 2022 outbreak. We'll continue to work with provincial and territorial public health authorities to:

maintain public health monitoring, and

study new evidence to guide timely public health action
...
Date modified: 2024-09-20

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/mpox/outbreak-update.html

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

While an outbreak in the DRC worries: three new cases of mpox reported in Montreal

This comes as the WHO fears a new global surge in cases of the virus previously called monkeypox

Olivier Faucher| Published on December 22, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.


During the month of December, three cases of mpox were confirmed by the Montreal Regional Public Health Department (DRSP). Mpox is the official WHO name for the terms now to be banned: monkey pox or simian pox.


These are the first cases detected in almost three months in the metropolis, since the last one dates back to August 2023, indicated Marianne Paquette, spokesperson for the DRSP.

WORRYING OUTBREAK IN THE DRC
These infections come as a major outbreak of another strain of the virus, also called “clade I”, which occurred in recent months in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) worries the WHO.

“It represents a risk for the rest of the world,” warned Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical manager for this disease, during a press briefing on December 15.

Especially since the strain behind the outbreak of cases in the DRC “is possibly more virulent,” maintains Michel Libman, an infectious diseases expert from McGill University.

The latter is concerned about the situation in the DRC and fears that the scenario of summer 2022 will repeat itself.

“That's more or less how the outbreak started last time. It was in Nigeria, there was an importation of a few cases into several countries and it grew.”

In 2022, an outbreak of mpox in several countries which did not spare Montreal forced the authorities to launch a vaccination operation targeting in particular men from the LGBTQ community and sex workers, because it is transmitted through prolonged contact with the skin.

Globally, mpox transmission has generally accelerated in recent months. Last summer, around 100 cases were reported monthly to the WHO, while now the number hovers around 1,000, Dr. Lewis said .


ADDITIONAL ANALYZES PLANNED
As for the cases reported in December in Montreal, the DRSP plans “additional analyses” to determine whether they correspond to clade I.

Since only one laboratory in Quebec has the capacity to do this type of analysis, the results will be known in several weeks.

“The three recent cases confirmed in Montreal have symptoms similar to what has been observed since the start of the global mpox epidemic in May 2022. No serious presentation has been reported,” said Ms. Paquette .

No cases of clade I have been reported in North America at the moment, specifies Ms. Paquette .
...

https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2023/12/22/trois-nouveaux-cas-de-mpox-signales-a-montreal

[Mary Wilson]

Canada among 10 countries with highest cumulative mpox cases, WHO reports

Published Aug. 15, 2023 1:00 p.m. CDT
Sissi De Flaviis

... From Jan. 1, 2022 to Aug. 9, 2023, the WHO has noted a total of 89,308 laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox, or monkeypox, reported globally, according to a status report published on Monday.

... As of July 28, 2023, the government of Canada has received detailed case reports on 1,440 confirmed cases of mpox in the country, and is reporting a total of 1,503 confirmed cases on its dashboard.

That differs slightly from the World Health Organization's figure of 1,496 confirmed Canadian cases, which the WHO says is expected and due "to different inclusion criteria and different data cut-off times." ...

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-among-10-countries-reporting-highest-cumulative-mpox-cases-who-reports-1.6520194

[Shiloh]

1,496 cases in 9 provinces/territories (May 26, 2023): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/mpox/

[Shiloh]

1,485 cases in 9 provinces/territories (April 28, 2023): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/mpox/

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google


Public Health reports new cases of monkeypox diagnosed in Montreal

Ugo Giguère - The Canadian Press
March 30, 2023

A month almost to the day after the Ministry of Health and Social Services officially announced the end of the outbreak of monkeypox in Quebec, two new cases have appeared in Montreal, reports Public Health.

In an update of its "call for vigilance", the regional direction of Public Health of Montreal (DRSP) reveals that "after several months without reporting new cases" in the metropolis, two laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported. since March 17.

The health authorities are therefore launching a new call for vaccination among the population groups most at risk. According to Public Health data, the vaccination coverage of at-risk clients is estimated at 54% for a first dose and 24% for a second dose.

“Our vaccination coverage could really be improved. It would allow us to be better protected and prevent the risk of local transmission, ”explains Dr. Geneviève Bergeron, medical chief of the infectious disease prevention and control sector at the DRSP.

This infectious disease disproportionately affects men who have sex with other men. The two recently reported cases are believed to be linked to men who traveled to countries where local transmission is well documented.

Dr. Bergeron recalls that each case of infection acquired abroad “can lead to local transmission”.

In this regard, if the epidemic was considered to be over in Montreal and Quebec, the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that it is a “public health emergency of international concern”.

According to information provided by Public Health, the two recently infected people had received at least one dose of the Imvamune preventive vaccine, which reduces the risk of contracting the disease and developing serious complications.


“There is no vaccine that is 100% effective, but we know that the vaccine is effective. Among people who have received the vaccine, we see presentations that are less severe. Fewer lesions, fewer complications,” says Dr. Bergeron.

The virus is transmitted by direct contact of the skin or mucous membranes with the lesions of an infected person or their biological fluids. It can also be transmitted by respiratory droplets during prolonged close contact.

The main symptoms are first fever, headache, fatigue, chills, body aches and inflammation of the glands. Thereafter, one sees the appearance of rashes on the face and elsewhere on the body. These rashes can be very painful, we warn.

More than 500 cases

Between May and October 2022, 400 probable and confirmed cases of monkeypox were diagnosed in Montreal. Across Quebec, the Ministry of Health and Social Services has counted 526 probable or confirmed cases in connection with this outbreak.

The last appearances of monkeypox in Montreal dated back to the fall of 2022. A vaccination campaign quickly deployed by Montreal Public Health last summer slowed its spread.

Anyone wishing to obtain the vaccine is invited to consult the Clic Santé platform to make an appointment.

Public Health calls on health professionals to be vigilant in order to identify other cases and promote the preventive vaccine to the target public.

https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/787428/la-sante-publique-rapporte-de-nouveaux-cas-de-variole-simienne-diagnostiques-a-montreal

[Shiloh]

1,460 cases in 9 provinces/territories (February 3, 2023 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/

[Shiloh]

1,460 cases in 9 provinces/territories (Jan. 20, 2023 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/

[Shiloh]

1,460 cases in 9 provinces/territories (Jan. 6, 2023 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/

[Shiloh]

1,446 cases in 9 provinces/territories (Nov. 25, 2022 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/

[Shiloh]

1,445 cases in 9 provinces/territories (Nov. 14, 2022 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/

[Shiloh]

Source: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal...ines-1.6141911



Montreal doctors cautiously optimistic as monkeypox declines
Jacob Serebrin
The Canadian Press
Updated Nov. 7, 2022 8:43 a.m. EST
Published Nov. 7, 2022 8:42 a.m. EST


Once the Canadian epicentre of monkeypox, Montreal has nearly eradicated the virus from its territory, according to health experts.

However, Montreal's public health department (DSP) warns that tourists and other visitors can still import cases -- and it's still unclear how long the vaccine will remain effective.

Dr. Geneviève Bergeron, head of health emergencies and infectious diseases at the Montreal DSP, is cautiously optimistic.

"We have certainly seen a sharp decline in the last few weeks," she confirmed in a recent interview.

Dr. Réjean Thomas, president of l'Actual, a clinic specializing in sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, reports seeing nearly a dozen people a day who thought they had the disease. Now, these cases are few and far between.

His clinic has treated a total 125 monkeypox patients -- more than a quarter of all cases in Montreal since the first was detected on May 12.

But Thomas says the future remains uncertain; he recently saw a monkeypox patient vaccinated in July.

"So that's the big question: how effective will the vaccine be and for how long?" he said....

[Shiloh]

1,444 cases in 9 provinces/territories (Nov. 4, 2022 update): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/monkeypox/