Trace amounts of the emerging mpox virus have been detected in wastewater in this province.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox, also known as monkey pox, as a public health emergency of international concern.
This province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, briefed reporters this afternoon on the implications of local detection of the virus.
But officials have stressed there are no confirmed cases of the virus in the province.
Fitzgerald says because the amounts found were so small they can’t quantify how much could be circulating in the province.
She says they are “fairly confident” that there isn’t much circulating and the risk is low. Though the findings do tell them that the virus could be here and they need to be ready.
Mpox usually produces mild symptoms, with most people recovering in a few weeks. Those symptoms could include fever, chills, rash, muscle and joint pain and exhaustion that can last from two to four weeks.
The virus is spread through close contact with the sharing of clothing, bedding or common items that carry bodily fluids, or through the sores from someone infected with the virus.
The Imvamune vaccine is available for people who are not symptomatic or have been in close contact with someone exposed to the virus, but the public can check eligibility and find more mpox info online.
Residents are encouraged to contact a primary care provider or call 811 if they develop mpox symptoms, or if they have been in contact with someone who has the virus.
Spread of the illness can be prevented by washing your hands, disinfecting common surfaces, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding close physical contact with someone who is infected or may have been exposed to mpox.
Officials also say the detections in this province were not of the same subgroup of the mpox virus that prompted the WHO’s declaration.
The WHO says there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths related to mpox in more than a dozen countries across Africa this year.
That already exceeds last year’s figures, with more than 96 per cent of all cases and deaths in one country — Congo.
