Is there a risk of mpox spreading across Canada? A virologist weighs in

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global health emergency for the second time in two years on Wednesday.

This news comes as Toronto Public Health is sounding the alarm on mpox cases in the city, and as Africa sees a surge in cases in Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

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Virologist Jason Kindrachuk said mpox is a disease that has been prevalent in Central and West Africa for about five decades. He added that in many ways it’s similar to smallpox.

“As we got through the eradication of smallpox, mpox picked up in the background,” he said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Thursday.

“That’s really the consequences of what we’re seeing today is unfortunately what happens when we don’t try and respond in a timely fashion."

Kindrachuk, who has been working for years on the mpox response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the risk is low that the form of mpox seen in Congo will make its way out of the global community.

He explained there are two virus types – clade I and clade II. Clade I is endemic within Central Africa, and is associated with more severe disease than clade II, which is what is circulating in Toronto.

“We have to appreciate though that the longer that we let clade I to run unabated in Central Africa, the greater the risk is for further geographic expansion,” he said.

“And of course, the more investment and time it’s going to take to get things contained if we do leave this for longer.”

Kindrachuk said the key to stopping the spread of mpox is getting vaccines and therapeutics into Congo.

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.