Jordan Gill

New Brunswick has its first confirmed case of monkeypox.

Public Health announced the confirmed case Friday evening.

In a statement, Public Health did not provide details on the age or gender of the infected individual, but said the individual did not recently travel&nbsp;outside the province.

Public Health said they are working to identify the source of the infection and to identify and notify close contacts.

"New Brunswickers should know that monkeypox virus spreads by close contact with infected humans or animals and does not spread like COVID-19,"&nbsp;said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.

Monkeypox information in the works for N.B. clinicians, citizens, says health official

New Brunswick has no confirmed cases of monkeypox and no new suspected cases, but Public Health is putting together some resources for clinicians and working on a public awareness campaign.

A person wearing a face mask holds up a tube with a label reading "monkeypox virus."

In Canada, the U.S and around the world, the current outbreak of the disease has overwhelmingly affected men who have sex with men.

FPDay6MonkeyPox

There are 375 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, as of Friday, including 248 in Quebec, 101 in Ontario, 18 in B.C. and eight in Alberta, but officials expect those numbers to rise as more test results come in.

Public Health believes N.B. has monkeypox case, despite negative test

Dr. Yves Léger, the acting deputy chief medical officer of health, said Public Health isn't releasing details about the travel-related case, but the person wasn't assessed until after their symptoms faded.

Dr. Yves Léger, a regional medical officer of health, says there's "no public benefit" to releasing the location because the cooling tower that caused the outbreak was shut down Aug. 13 and cleaned. 

Dr. Yves Léger

Dr. Yves Léger, the province's acting deputy chief medical officer of health, said the risk to the general public remains low.

While this is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the province, it's not the first suspected case.

Back in June, Public Health announced an individual suspected of having monkeypox had tested negative.

But it said it was fair to say it was a suspected case because of where that individual had travelled and clinical photos.

The most common symptoms of monkeypox are fever, body aches, chills and fatigue.&nbsp;

Some people develop a rash and lesions on their face and body.

This image shows a monkeypox virus particle that has been coloured.

New Brunswick announces first confirmed case of monkeypox

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