Monkeypox infections ‘steadily decreasing’ in Canada, PHAC declares

As of Nov. 4, the total number of monkeypox cases reported in Canada to date was 1,444, the latest federal government data indicates.

New monkeypox infections are “steadily decreasing” in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says.

The drop in infections reflects a global trend reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. It said the number of weekly new cases of monkeypox reported has declined 80 per cent from the peak in August, although there was a small rise in new cases last week.

The drop in Canadian infections, which began circulating in May, is due to the “effectiveness of the Canadian public health approach to monkeypox,” said PHAC spokesperson Anna Maddison.

“Efforts contributing to the plateau include provincial and territorial immunization campaigns and the effectiveness of public health measure guidance in encouraging behaviour changes that reduce transmission,” she said.

“The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with international, provincial and territorial health partners to gather information on this evolving outbreak, assess the possible risk of exposure of the monkeypox virus in Canada and strengthen the global response to the current monkeypox outbreak.”

As of Nov. 4, the total number of monkeypox cases reported in Canada to date was 1,444, PHAC data shows. The last case that was reported to officials was on Oct. 20. Forty-two people have required hospitalization to date, and no monkeypox deaths have been reported in Canada.

Canadian monkeypox cases have slowed since the onset of the virus in May. On Aug. 31, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus singled out Canada during a media update for its handling of monkeypox. At the time, it was “encouraging to see” a “sustained downward trend” of monkeypox infections, he said.

Around that time, PHAC said in its Aug. 26 report Canada had logged 1,228 monkeypox cases to date. Up until that date, Canada had seen 338 new monkeypox cases from the first reporting period for the month on Aug. 3.