Alberta Health: No confirmed or suspected monkeypox cases in the province
As Quebec reports cases of a new infectious virus, Alberta Health says the province has no confirmed or suspected cases of the monkeypox.
Lisa Glover, Alberta Health spokesperson, confirmed to CTV News Edmonton that the province had no cases or active investigations for the viral disease as of Thursday.
"Alberta is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners to monitor the situation," Glover said in a statement. "However, there does not appear to be an elevated risk in the province."
This week, cases of monkeypox in the Montreal area were under investigation as more reports of infections of the rare disease across the world were reported, including in Portugal, Spain, the U.K., and U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when it first was identified in colonies of captive monkeys used for research. The first human case was reported in 1970.
Glover said Alberta has mandatory reporting for rare or emerging communicable diseases, including monkeypox.
"We are working with Alberta Health Services to provide information to doctors and clinicians on what to look for and patient management," Glover added.
Initial symptoms of the rare illness include fever, muscle aches, chills, exhaustion, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes.
Within one to three days after the appearance of symptoms, often patients develop a facial rash that can spread across the body.
The rash transitions to pustules or scabs that can fall off as the virus progresses. The illness typically lasts for two to four weeks, the CDC says.
The disease is mostly spread to people from animals, but it can spread among people. The disease has been endemic in parts of west and central Africa for decades.
"Monkeypox does not spread easily between people," Glover said. "Transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (like) clothing, bedding, or through respiratory droplets."
The majority of patients recover, although it can be potentially fatal in some cases.
With files from CTV News Montreal
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.