First Canadian case of more severe mpox strain confirmed in Manitoba

The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed the country’s first case of a more severe type of mpox in a person in Manitoba, though it says the risk to the general population remains low.

The agency says the travel-related case is associated with an ongoing outbreak of what’s known as clade 1 mpox in central and eastern Africa.

It says the person sought medical care for mpox symptoms in Canada shortly after their return and is isolating, with contact tracing being conducted.

The agency says that while clade 2 mpox has been circulating in Canada since 2022, this is the first confirmed case of clade 1 in the country.

Research suggests clade 1 is generally more transmissible and causes more severe disease than clade 2.

Mpox is a viral infection that is contagious and causes a painful rash that can be accompanied by other symptoms like fever, chills, headache, and back, joint and muscle pain.

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“The data suggests that (the Winnipeg case’s symptoms) will be self-resolving and we’ll just have to monitor for those close contacts,” said Jason Kindrachuk, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of Manitoba.

The case comes days after U.S. health officials confirmed the first case of clade 1 mpox in the country, which was found in a person who recently returned to California from a trip to eastern Africa.

“The unfortunate reality is we knew we were going to see cases here (in Canada),” Kindrachuk said. “Winnipeg is the first and likely not the last unfortunately.”

While clade 1 is more transmissible, researchers say mpox is generally hard to transmit without close contact.

Vaccines are available in Canada for those at high risk.

—With additional files from Global News