Toronto Public Health confirms Ontario's first cases of another mpox variant

This colorized electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2024 shows Mpox virus particles, green, found within infected cultured cells, blue. The virus particles are in various stages of maturity, which accounts for differences in shape. The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed the country's first case of a more severe type of mpox in a person in Manitoba, though it says the risk to the general population remains low. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NIAID

By The Canadian Press

Posted March 10, 2026 08:25 pm Last Updated March 11, 2026 03:04 pm

Public health officials in Toronto say two travel-related cases of another type of mpox have been confirmed for the first time in the city and the province.

Toronto Public Health says the variant known as clade Ib has been associated with mpox outbreaks in parts of Central and Eastern Africa and was found in a small number of travel-related cases in Europe and elsewhere.

It says that since 2022, mpox cases in Toronto have only involved the IIb strain of the virus.

Public health says both mpox variants can cause painful skin lesions, fever and other flu-like symptoms.

It is encouraging eligible Toronto residents to get the mpox vaccine, which is free and available without a health card.

Public health says 155 mpox cases were confirmed in Toronto in 2025, with a higher concentration of cases among residents in the downtown core.