The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the first case.

“The individual sought medical care for mpox symptoms in Canada shortly after their return and is currently isolating,” the agency said in a statement as quoted by Globe and Mail in its report.

“PHAC is working closely with public health authorities in Manitoba. The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) notified the province on November 22 that the sample tested positive for mpox clade Ib,” the agency said.

What is mpox?

Formerly known as monkeypox, the viral disease can spread between people, mainly through close contact, and occasionally from the environment to people via objects and surfaces that have been touched by a person with mpox.

Originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, mpox was neglected there, according to WHO.

“It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself,” said Dimie Ogoina, who chairs the International Health Regulations’ Emergency Committee, which advises WHO on such matters.

Endemic in central and West Africa, the infectious disease later caused a global outbreak in 2022, leading to a WHO public health emergency in July as it became a multi-country outbreak.

Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO has begun using a new preferred term “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox.

What are the symptoms?

Common symptoms of mpox include a rash lasting for two to four weeks, which may be started with or followed by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

The rash looks like blisters and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital and/or anal regions, mouth, throat or the eyes. The number of sores can range from one to several thousand.

People with mpox are considered infectious at least until all their blisters have crusted over, the scabs have fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed underneath, and all lesions on the eyes and in the body have healed. Typically this takes two to four weeks. Reports show that people can be re-infected after they’ve had mpox.

People with severe mpox may require hospitalisation, supportive care and antiviral medicines to reduce the severity of lesions and shorten time to recovery.