N.B.'s top doctor expects more monkeypox cases in province
New Brunswick's top doctor said with monkeypox outbreaks in Ontario and Quebec it's no surprise to see the province confirm its first case, and said there will be more cases.
"The fact that this particular case did not travel means that somebody within the province or one of their contacts had travelled," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health.
Public Health announced the first confirmed monkeypox case in the province on Friday.
The province had one suspected case of the disease back in June. While the individual tested negative, Public Health said clinical photos and the patient's travel history indicate they had the disease but didn't get tested soon enough.
Russell said she was not aware of any other confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox in the province, but couldn't say whether anyone was being tested as a direct result of the first confirmed case.
Vaccines
Because of a lack of vaccine supply, Russell said, the province is limiting monkeypox vaccines to the individual cases and to their close contacts.
"We will be getting more over the next weeks and months," she said.
"We are looking at changing our strategy based on supply. But as of right now, we are going to continue with the strategy we have."
Russell said the province is having conversations with the federal government about obtaining more vaccine supply.
Russell said people who become infected with monkeypox typically see symptoms develop between six and 13 days after exposure.
These symptoms can include fever, aches and pains, swollen lymph nodes and a rash.
Russell said once someone has become infected, it is easier for them to transmit the disease to other household members.
"Household members can also be at risk," said Russell.
Raising awareness
While the disease has often spread between people who have been sexually intimate with each other, it hasn't been confirmed that monkeypox is transmitted through sexual activity.
Nevertheless, the province is targeting certain higher-risk groups.
"We know that people who are at risk right now can be people who either attend events or go to or use different dating apps for meeting people and having sexual relations," said Russell.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) have been overrepresented in the latest outbreak of monkeypox, Canada's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Theresa Tam, has said.
Russell said the province is working with that community to spread awareness about the disease and how to avoid it.
But she said it's important to understand that MSM are not at an inherently higher risk of becoming infected with monkeypox, saying the disease is transmissible to and between people of all different genders and sexual orientations.
People born after 1972 are at a higher risk because that's when the province stopped giving out smallpox vaccines, which would have offered protection against monkeypox.
