Ontario’s top doctor issues order to doctors requiring reporting on possible monkeypox cases
Ontario’s top public health official issued an order to healthcare providers requiring them to report any possible or suspected cases of monkeypox to local authorities.
In a copy of the order, which was issued under section 77.6 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, it states that health-care providers must provide Public Health Ontario with information on any patient that meets the “case definitions” of monkeypox.
The information will be used for investigative purposes, as well as conducting case and contact management.
The Ministry of Health confirmed to CTV News Toronto the order was issued on May 20, a day before the first suspected Ontario case was identified.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
On Saturday, Toronto Public Health (TPH) said there was an infection suspected in a man in his 40s who had recently been in contact with an individual who had travelled to Montreal.
The man is in stable condition and recovering in hospital, officials said. Anyone who attended the Axis Club (located at 722 College Street) on May 14 or Woody's bar (located at 467 Church Street) on either May 13 or May 14 may have been exposed and are being asked to self-monitor for symptoms.
Speaking with CP24 the following day, TPH associate medical officer of health Dr. Rita Shahin said monkeypox usually starts with a fever and a general feeling of being unwell—lymph nodes may be swollen and the patient can experience muscle aches.
“A couple of days later it can progress to a rash that starts first on the face. The lesions look a little bit like chickenpox. They start off with small red bumps and then fill with a clear fluid and then the rash will spread to the rest of the body.”
At the same time, Shahin said that monkeypox is not easily spread and usually requires prolonged face-to-face contact or skin-to-skin contact with the lesions.
“The risk is really low. It’s not easily spread like COVID, which is reassuring, but we’re asking anyone who may have been exposed to just be on the lookout for any unusual lesions that they may have.”
Anyone with symptoms is being asked to seek medical attention.
WHAT DOES A SUSPECTED CASE MEAN?
According to the section 77.6 order, a suspected case of monkeypox is defined as a new onset rash and at least one other acute sign or symptom of the illness. It also means that an alternative diagnosis cannot fully explain the patient’s ailments.
A “probable case” is being defined as a patient who meets the definition of a suspected case but also has a high-risk exposure to a probably or confirmed human case of monkeypox, has a history of travel to a region with a confirmed case or has a “relevant zoonotic exposure.”
A case becomes confirmed when there is a laboratory test conducted and monkeypox virus DNA is detected.
The incubation period can range between 5 and 21 days, officials say.
An internal memo sent to health-care providers and public health units along with the order, obtained by CTV News, the chief medical officer of health asks doctors to consider monkeypox as a diagnosis “in individuals presenting with signs and symptoms that may be compatible, especially with those with history of travel to affected countries or other risk factors.”
“Please do not limit concerns or suspicion for the diagnosis to men who report having sex with other men, as anyone with close personal contact with a person with monkeypox virus infection could be at risk for the disease,” Moore wrote. “I am urging all healthcare providers to be alert for patients presenting with symptoms that are consistent with monkeypox virus infection, especially if they have had travel or contact with a known case.”
The memo also says that close contacts of patients with suspected or confirmed monkeypox should self-monitor for symptoms for 21 days after exposure. If symptoms begin to occur, those individuals should seek care, get tested and self isolate.
The World Health Organization has confirmed 92 cases of monkeypox across the globe, along with up to 28 suspected cases, including up to 25 across Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.