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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.