ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

World needs to up game against emerging infectious diseases: Dr. Theresa Tam

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Share
OTTAWA -

Canada's chief public health officer says the world must erect better defences against transmissible diseases as climate change and other factors raise the risk we will see more emerging infectious diseases in the years to come.

Dr. Theresa Tam's comments come as Canada has now confirmed 58 cases of monkeypox, with 52 in Quebec, five in Ontario and one in Alberta.

Globally, there are 550 confirmed cases in 30 non-endemic countries where the virus has not usually been found.

Tam warns that while we know a lot about how the monkeypox virus behaves in countries where it is endemic, we know little about how it may behave in populations that are both mostly unvaccinated against it and have no natural levels of immunity.

Monkeypox is caused by a virus and spreads when humans come into direct contact with the virus, often through infectious sores, scabs, bodily fluids or respiratory secretions during prolonged, intimate contact.

She says thus far the cases in Canada have not spread beyond a specific community where the first cases were identified, but that is always a risk and public awareness is key to identifying and tracing cases as quickly as possible.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2022.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.