Ottawa - Canada's Chief Public Health Officer said the world must build better defenses against infectious diseases as climate change and other factors increase the risks of more emerging infectious diseases in the coming years.

Dr. Theresa Tam's comments come as Canada confirmed 58 cases of monkeypox, including 52 cases in Quebec, five in Ontario, and one in Alberta.

Globally, there are 550 confirmed cases in 30 countries that are not naturally endemic to this virus.

Tam said in a statement today, "While we know a lot about the behavior of the monkeypox virus in countries where this virus is endemic, we know little about how it might act in groups mostly unvaccinated against it and lacking natural immunity levels."

The monkeypox virus spreads when humans come into direct contact with the virus, often through infectious sores or bodily fluids or respiratory secretions during prolonged intimate contact.

She says that cases in Canada so far have not spread beyond a specific community where the first cases were identified, but this always poses a risk, and public awareness is key to identifying and tracking cases as quickly as possible.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair