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Two cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the Interior Health region.

Aside from Northern Health, there are fewer monkeypox cases in the Interior Health region than anywhere else in the province. There are no known cases in the Northern Health region.

Of the 98 confirmed cases in B.C., Vancouver Coastal Health has the lion's share with 81. There are nine cases in the Fraser Health region and the remaining six are in the Island Health region.

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The first two Interior Health cases were confirmed through lab testing at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control yesterday, Aug. 11. The first case in the province was confirmed, June 10.

Local public health officials reach out to the known close contacts of infected people if they are at risk for the disease, the centre for disease control said.

None of the confirmed cases, including those in the Interior Health region, are specified by community or local health region.

An Interior Health spokesperson wouldn't say in which communities or local health areas the cases were confirmed when asked by iNFOnews.ca.

"We are not able to provide the location of the cases to protect patient privacy," they said in an emailed response.

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Monkeypox is usually spread through physical contact, especially contact with the sores and blisters an infected person can develop.

"It can also be transmitted through items like bedding or towels that have monkeypox virus or respiratory droplets such as coughs and sneezes during close, face-to-face contact with a person who has monkeypox," the centre for disease control said.

Symptoms usually develop in two stages, with fevers, chills and fatigue at first. The second stage, one to five days after the first, can include sores, blisters and rashes.

The federal chief public health officer reports there are 1,059 monkeypox cases confirmed in Canada as of today, Aug. 12. Most of those are in Quebec and Ontario.

More information on symptoms and what to do if you are infected with monkeypox can be found on the B.C. Centre for Disease Control website here.

Interior Health offers a vaccine for the disease, but only for those meeting specified criteria because of limited supply. More information is available on the health authority's website here.

— This story was updated at 3:05 p.m., Aug. 12, 2022, with a comment from the Interior Health Authority.

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