The first recorded case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Alberta
Dr. Deena Hinshaw did not confirm where the case is, but the person had close contact with a known case outside the province.
The individual is currently self-isolating.
Hinshaw took to Twitter to explain monkeypox is a rare disease that can cause fevers, aches & rashes.
I would like to provide an update on monkeypox in Alberta. Monkeypox is a rare disease that can cause fevers, aches & rashes. Though monkeypox is uncommon & generally considered a low risk to the public at large, one isolated case has now been confirmed in Alberta. (1/9)
— Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health (@CMOH_Alberta) June 2, 2022
Hinshaw notes, that the virus doesn’t spread easily among people. Infections usually occur through contact with sores, items recently contaminated with fluids or sores, and through body fluids.
Hinshaw says while the risk of infection is currently low for the general population, monkeypox can affect anyone in prolonged close contact with an infected person.
Most of the cases in the country so far are in Quebec which has confirmed 52 cases.
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.
–With files from Chris Bowen
