Toronto confirms 1st case of monkeypox, 4 others under investigation

Toronto Public Health has confirmed the city's first case of monkeypox.

The city has been investigating several suspected and probable cases, and today announced that one has been lab confirmed.

Officials say the person is in stable condition and recovering in hospital.

The city also says two people that had previously been suspected of having monkeypox have tested negative, but four new suspected cases were also reported today.

That means there are four people with suspected cases and one person with a probable case, and public health officials say they are all recovering at home.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that comes from the same family of viruses that causes smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated around the globe in 1980, but monkeypox generally does not spread easily between people and is transmitted through prolonged close contact.