On Monday, Canada’s Quebec province health department confirmed ten new cases of monkeypox for a total of 15 infections across the province.
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"We expect more cases to be confirmed in the coming days," Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said but did not detail what symptoms the people infected had or their condition's seriousness.
Monkeypox, which is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox but milder, was first recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s. The number of cases in West Africa has increased in the last decade.
Nearly 20 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported recent disease outbreaks with more than 230 confirmed or suspected infections.
Canada confirmed its first two cases of monkeypox last week in Quebec, which is considering ordering the Imvamune vaccine against the disease from the federal government.
"I want to reiterate to Canadians that this is a different situation than we saw ourselves in with the emergence of COVID-19," Duclos said, noting that Canada has a supply of vaccines on hand to fight this virus.
“Although this monkeypox's current overall risk to the population is low, our researchers are working now to determine why it seems to be circulating in Canada and elsewhere in the Western world,” he added.