Ontario, Canada: 2024 Mpox - cases on the rise in Toronto and Ottawa

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Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/10372884/toronto-mpox-cases/

Toronto reports 21 mpox cases so far this year, after 27 cases in all of 2023
By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted March 20, 2024 1:03 pm

Toronto Public Health says 21 cases of mpox have been confirmed in the city since the start of this year compared with a total of 27 cases for all of 2023.

The health unit is encouraging eligible residents to get vaccinated against the virus formerly known as monkeypox amid the rise in cases.

It says travel is not a significant factor among the current cases, suggesting local transmission, and none of the affected individuals were fully vaccinated...

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Source: https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-ur...ases-1.6827077


Ontario urges mpox testing amid spike in cases
Katherine DeClerq, CTVNewsToronto.ca Journalist
Published Friday, March 29, 2024 6:46AM EDT
Last Updated Friday, March 29, 2024 6:46AM EDT

Ontario health officials are urging public health units to test for mpox, the viral disease formerly known as monkeypox, amid a spike of confirmed cases in the province.

According to a report released Tuesday, Ontario has seen 26 confirmed cases of mpox since mid-January.

In all of 2023 there were just 33 reported cases.

About 77 per cent of cases were identified by Toronto Public Health, while the remaining infections were identified in Ottawa, Peel and Halton...

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...arns-1.7177270

Mpox cases on the rise again, OPH warns
Only a fraction of those eligible for second vaccine have got one
Isabel Harder · CBC News · Posted: Apr 18, 2024 12:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Mpox cases in Ontario are on the rise, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is warning local doctors and nurses.

The province has reported 26 cases so far in 2024, with OPH noting in its Wednesday statement that four had been confirmed in Ottawa...

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EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SUMMARY

Mpox in Ontario: January 1 to June 15, 2024

This report summarizes key demographic, testing and vaccination information on mpox cases reported in Ontario with a focus on cases reported in 2024 to date.

272 KB
Published 9 July 2024

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Mpox in Ontario: January 1 to June 15, 2024

Published: July 9, 2024

Introduction

This biweekly report provides an epidemiologic summary of confirmed mpox cases in Ontario and
includes information available from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) as of
July 3, 2024.

The current provincial case definition for mpox can be found in Appendix 1 of the Infectious Disease
Protocol for mpox. For further information regarding mpox visit Public Health Ontario’s (PHO) Mpox
webpage.

Key Messages

• An increase in mpox activity has been observed in Ontario since mid-January 2024 with a total of
67 confirmed cases occurring from January 1 to June 15, 2024. In comparison, only 33 confirmed
cases were reported in 2023. Trends pertaining to age, gender and risk factors were similar
between cases reported in 2023 and 2024. For more information on cases reported in 2023, see
the mpox epidemiological summary published on June 25, 2024.

• Public health units (PHUs) that have reported cases, particularly those in the Greater Toronto Area
and Ottawa, should encourage health care providers to test individuals with compatible clinical
evidence for mpox.

• Only 35.3% of individuals who received one dose of the Imvamune® vaccine in Ontario have
received their second dose. The number of doses administered in 2024 peaked in April and has
declined in the most recent month. PHUs in Ontario should continue to promote a two-dose
Imvamune® vaccination series to those eligible. Individuals with a previous history of laboratory
confirmed mpox infection or history of completing a two dose Imvamune® vaccine series do not
require a booster vaccine.

Highlights

Since January 1, 2024, a total of 67 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases have been reported in Ontario.
(Figure 1)

• 64/67 (95.5%) cases are male and 1/67 (1.5%) case is female (with an epidemiological-link to a
male case); gender is unknown for 2/67 (3.0%) cases. (Table 1)

• 57/67 (85.1%) cases are between the ages of 20 – 49 years. The overall median age is 37.4 years
(interquartile range: 29.2 – 44.1 years). (Table 1)

• No cases required hospitalization; no deaths have been reported. (Table 1)

• 53/67 (79.1%) cases were reported by Toronto Public Health; the remaining 14/67 (20.9%) cases
were reported by eight other public health units. (Table 2)

• 58/67 (86.6%) cases reported at least one risk factor. Engaging in sexual or intimate contact with a
partner of the same sex (51/58; 87.9%), with new and/or more than one partner (41/58; 70.7%), or
anonymous partners (32/58; 55.2%) were the most frequently reported among these cases.

• Approximately 20% (12/58; 20.7%) of cases reported travel outside of Ontario during the 21 days
prior to symptom onset suggesting that the majority of cases acquired their infection within
Ontario (i.e., ongoing local transmission).

• 491 new individuals have been tested for mpox since January 1, 2024. Weekly percent positivity
among these individuals has fluctuated between 0.0% and 34.6% since January, but has remained
above 15.0% since May 26, 2024. (Figure 2)

• Between May 4, 2022 and July 4, 2024, a total of 54,456 doses of Imvamune® vaccine have been
administered in Ontario among 40,247 people. In June 2024, 128 first doses and 115 second doses
were administered. (Figure 3)
...

https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/mpox-ontario-enhanced-episummary.pdf?rev=ef0d189eae1c4dc29132e575e2040b26&sc_lang=en

https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Diseases-and-Conditions/Infectious-Diseases/Vector-Borne-Zoonotic-Diseases/Mpox

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Source: https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-se...ials-1.6998952


Toronto seeing 'spike' in mpox cases: officials
Phil Tsekouras, CTVNewsToronto.ca Journalist
Published Tuesday, August 13, 2024 10:44AM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, August 13, 2024 12:35PM EDT

Toronto is reporting a "spike" in mpox cases and health officials are urging eligible residents to get vaccinated to contain the spread.

In a news release issued Tuesday, Toronto Public Health said it has seen 93 confirmed cases as of July 31. This time last year, the city's case count stood at 21.

The latest numbers indicate that there were 13 new cases confirmed in Toronto over the last two weeks of July...