Toronto Health Authorities Investigate First Suspected Monkeypox Case

This electron microscopic (EM) image depicted a monkeypox virion, obtained from a clinical sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regnery, via The Canadian Press)

Toronto Public Health says it is investigating Ontario’s first suspected case of monkeypox.

Health officials say the case is a man in his 40s who had contact with someone who had recently travelled to Montreal.

The man recovering in hospital and his condition is stable.

The risk posed by monkeypox is low, and thus far all five lab−confirmed cases in Canada are in Montreal, where health officials said Saturday there are 15 cases under investigation.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that comes from the same family of viruses that causes smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated around the globe in 1980.

In general, monkeypox does not spread easily between people and is transmitted through prolonged close contact, including direct contact with an infected person’s respiratory droplets, bodily fluids or sores.

Monkeypox is typically milder than smallpox and can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and lesions all over the body.