Vancouver Coastal Health urges mpox vaccinations amid recent increase in cases
Disease mostly spreading among gay and bisexual men and through person-to-person contact, officials say
Vancouver Coastal Health officials are urging residents, especially men who have sex with other men, to see if they are fully immunized against mpox amid a recent rise in cases.
Mpox, a virus in the same family as smallpox, can cause painful rashes, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and respiratory symptoms.
Officials say the virus continues to spread primarily through person-to-person contact and is currently affecting gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
The virus gained prominence in 2022, when it exploded and caused severe disease in communities around the world and was observed as being primarily transmitted through sexual contact.
Nineteen cases have been reported in the Vancouver Coastal Health region so far in 2025, which constitutes a majority of the cases in B.C.
"We've been noticing ... a large proportion of these cases have been amongst individuals who have not been vaccinated or have only received one of the two doses for vaccine," said Dr. Rohit Vijh with Vancouver Coastal Health.
"Our main intention in sharing this information is to be able to increase awareness that mpox is still circulating amongst our community and to really encourage folks that are eligible for the vaccine to get vaccinated."
The medical health officer says data shows that less than half of the people in the region who received their first dose of the mpox vaccine in 2022 had received a second dose.
There were 96 cases of mpox in the VCH region in 2024, compared to 190 in 2022. The health authority says that most cases in the province — 77 per cent last year — were in the VCH area.
Currently, VCH says that men who have sex with other men, have sex with more than one partner, participate in public or community sex, or engage with the sex industry are eligible for the vaccine.
The health authority says that mpox symptoms usually appear one to two weeks after exposure but could take up to 21 days to appear and can last up to two to four weeks.
Aaron Purdie, the executive director of Health Initiative for Men Society (HIM), says that mpox seems to spread in highly urban locations where many gay, bisexual and gender-diverse people are congregating or have moved to live.
"We aren't seeing it so much in, you know, Kelowna, Kamloops, but we do see it in Vancouver," he told CBC News.
Purdie said he was encouraging men to be proactive and reach out to the non-profit if they want to talk about their sexual health.
"We know this is a virus that can be transmitted without symptoms," he said.
"We know that ... the infection gets much less if you have two vaccinations as it stated in VCH's release. And so we really just encourage more talking."
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With files from Rafferty Baker