Ottawa, Jul 21 (IANS): The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed a total of 604 cases of monkeypox in the country as of Wednesday.

The cases included 320 from Quebec, 230 from Ontario, 40 from British Columbia, 12 from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Canadian federal government said on Wednesday that it will fund to support community-based organisations in addressing monkeypox.

According to the PHAC, provinces and territories are reviewing case data in their jurisdictions, and those meeting the case definition will be reported to the PHAC to be included in the national investigation.

The National Microbiology Laboratory is performing diagnostic testing for the virus that causes monkeypox. In addition, the laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing, an enhanced fingerprint analysis, on Canadian samples of monkeypox, the PHAC said.

Monkeypox is a sylvatic zoonosis that may cause infections in humans and the disease usually occurs in forested parts of Central and West Africa. It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus family, according to the World Health Organization.