The federal government plans to give $1 million to community organizations across the country to provide gay and bisexual men with information about monkeypox and combat the stigma surrounding the disease. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says community organization REZO in Montreal will receive $150,000 to support local and provincial outreach efforts, and the Toronto AIDS Commission and MAX Ottawa will each receive $100,000. Guilbeault supported the announcement to the REZO organization because the health minister was unavailable. Public Health Canada says the disease is spread mostly among men who report close contact with men, but anyone can get monkeypox. As of Wednesday, there were 604 confirmed cases of smallpox in Canada, with the vast majority in Quebec and Ontario. Two organizations in Vancouver and one in Edmonton are also expected to receive money, and the Public Health Service will keep $100,000 in reserve to deal with any emerging issues related to monkeypox. Monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have been shown to be effective in fighting the monkeypox virus. Guilbeault said he is confident Canada will have enough vaccine to deal with the spread of the disease, but did not elaborate on how much of a supply Canada has or is trying to acquire. The virus generally does not spread easily and is transmitted through prolonged close contact through respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding. Common symptoms include a rash, mouth and genital lesions, and swollen lymph nodes. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022.
