Traces of mpox virus found in N.L. wastewater, but no current cases in province
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says risk of contracting mpox low in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Health and Community Services said Friday that trace amounts of the mpox virus have been detected in the province's wastewater.
The department said in a news release there are currently no confirmed cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in the province.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province's chief medical officer of health, told reporters Friday afternoon that the risk of contracting mpox in Newfoundland and Labrador is low.
Fitzgerald said most people who contract the mpox virus will have a "mild illness," but some are "at higher risk for more severe disease."
She says it's likely someone in the province has had mpox, but that there haven't been any confirmed cases.
She says public health is on the lookout for people who may have symptoms, but that it's unlikely someone in the province has mpox and isn't coming forward.
"It may have been somebody who was passing through the province. It may have been somebody who was on the tail-end of an infection and got better and, you know, is no longer spreading it," she said.
"We had two non-consecutive testings that were this trace level and that last one was on July 22," she said. "We haven't had anything since. So, you know, we are fairly confident that there's not much circulating at the moment."
The World Health Organization named mpox a public health emergency of international concern Wednesday, a day after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the continent's first public health emergency.
The department says mpox symptoms can include chills, rash, fever, muscle and joint pain. The virus is known for causing painful lesions, and in some cases severe illness or death. The department's news release says it is spread through "close contact with a person with mpox, and sharing clothing, bedding, or common items that have been in contact with body fluids or sores of a person with mpox."
Fitzgerald told reporters that public health has been conducting wastewater surveillance for mpox mainly in the St. John's metro region on and off since 2022. She said traces of the virus were found in wastewater this July, and that public health will continue surveilling wastewater.
"That really means very low levels," said Fitzgerald. "You really couldn't quantify those levels at all, so we couldn't give a number for exactly how much was here."
Stopping the spread
Cases of mpox first skyrocketed globally in the summer of 2022, leading the WHO to make its first international emergency declaration, which ended in mid-2023.
Case counts of the virus settled globally following vaccination programs — however, numbers have been skyrocketing in Africa for months, with the continent seeing a 160 per cent increase in cases and deaths compared to 2023.
The department said in a press release that the virus detected in Newfoundland and Labrador's public health wastewater surveillance system is not in the same subgroup of the virus that prompted the WHO to name it a global health emergency.
Fitzgerald said there are vaccinations available to eligible people in the province who are asymptomatic or have been in close contact with someone who has mpox. She said the list for eligibility is extensive, and includes some members of the LGBTQ community, as well as those involved in sex work. She said the highest incidents of the virus in the past have been among members of the LGBTQ community.
The health department said in a statement that covering coughs and sneezes, limiting close contact with people who have symptoms, and cleaning high-touch surfaces after having visitors are all ways to help prevent the spread of mpox.
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With files from Mark Quinn
