Island Health says a case of smallpox has been confirmed in a person living on the south island through lab tests.
Public health teams are monitoring the case, including managing identified contacts by tracking contacts.
In a statement, Island Health says the public health team received confirmation of the case on Thursday, but sent the notice to the public on Friday.
Island Health says the risk to the public is very low and the virus spreads through person-to-person contact.
Vaccines are being provided to high-risk contacts identified by contact tracking at Island Health.
Symptoms may take five to 21 days to appear, but usually appear within the first two weeks after exposure.
There are two stages of the disease. The first are flu-like symptoms, followed by a rash usually with sores and blisters.
People are considered infectious from the first symptoms appear, until the sores peel off, are dry, and new skin is seen.
“Most people with monkeypox have mild symptoms and do not require any specific intervention,” Island Health says in a statement. “The treatment of monkeypox continues to be supportive and symptom-oriented (e.g., fever control, hydration support, treatment of secondary infections).”
Editorial Policies Report a bug