Health Minister Michelle Thompson said Wednesday that the first “couple” of monkeypox cases have been identified in Nova Scotia. On Thursday, he further explained that the two cases involved people visiting Nova Scotia who developed symptoms while here but tested positive in their province. “There were two cases that were detected but they were not people from here. So we don’t really have any cases of our own,” Thompson said. According to Thompson, both people who tested positive are no longer in the province and there is no evidence of monkeypox spreading in Nova Scotia. The province won’t say how Public Health learned about the two cases, citing “privacy reasons.” Thompson said there is no danger to Nova Scotians, but medical professionals are still asking people to watch for symptoms. “There is fever and sometimes chills and swollen lymph nodes, headaches,” said health practitioner Dr. Ryan Sommers. “Joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue, and then what happens one to five days later is the development of a rash.” Newfoundland and Labrador reported its first possible case Thursday, but few details about the case have been released. No cases have been reported in New Brunswick, but contact tracing efforts are ongoing. “What is the best approach to managing cases and contacts and managing the risk of any further spread,” said Dr. Yves Léger, New Brunswick’s deputy chief medical officer of health. “We’ve also reviewed our surveillance to make sure we’re comfortable with the surveillance that’s in place, making sure healthcare providers are aware of the need to think about monkeypox.” In Prince Edward Island, the attitude toward predicting the arrival of monkeypox is that it’s a matter of when, not if. “Given the way it’s spread across Canada and around the world, it’s possible we’ll see cases at some point,” said public health chief Dr. Eilish Cleary. Cleary said the best way to prevent a larger outbreak and reduce exposures is to work closely with people at highest risk. Canada had 745 confirmed monkeypox cases as of Wednesday, with the most cases reported in Quebec and Ontario. The WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency on July 23. With files from CTVNews.ca
