Health

Avian flu detected in polar bear in Alaska

Published

8 months ago

January 4, 2024

Wildlife officials in Alaska have confirmed the first known case of a polar bear that died from avian flu — highlighting growing concerns about the H5N1 strain’s potential spread among northern mammals.

Dr. Robert Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, said the young bear’s carcass was recently found by a biologist working in the state’s remote North Slope region. Swab samples from the dead animal confirmed that it had been infected with the highly pathenogenic H5N1 strain.

“We have had birds detected with the avian influenza virus in that area. So we’re making the assumption that the bear had come up onto land and had probably scavenged one of the dead or dying birds, and gotten exposed that way,” Gerlach said.

The current global outbreak of H5N1 has led to the loss of millions of birds. The strain was first detected in Canada in 2021 and has devastated poultry farms, and spread to some birds of prey as well as some mammals, experts say.

Gerlach said Alaska is trying to monitor the presence and spread of H5N1 in the state, but it can be difficult in such a vast territory.

“If an animal dies, especially in the wild up here, it can be scavenged rather quickly by other animals. And so it really is a challenge, trying to find these cases,” he said.

Gerlach said some bird species in Alaska have been “severely” affected by the outbreak, including eagles and magpies, as well as waterfowl.

Chickens are seen at a poultry farm in Abbotsford, B.C. in November 2022. The current outbreak of avian flu has devastated many poultry farms in that province. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

He said this outbreak seems much different to the last global outbreak of avian flu nearly a decade ago. The previous one “seemed to dissipate rather quickly,” Gerlach said.

“In this case, we are seeing it really hang on and being adaptive to stay very influential in wild birds, as well as impacting you know, our domestic poultry.”

H5N1 can also infect humans, though such cases are rare and “mostly occur after close contact with infected birds or highly contaminated environments such as poultry farms or live bird markets,” according to Health Canada.

Still, Gerlach says it’s hard to predict how the global outbreak will evolve. Some scientists worry that it could eventually turn into another pandemic among humans.

“Currently the risk to people is very, very low,” Gerlach said.

“But as this virus adapts or mutates, will it change and cause more of a problem? And that’s one thing that it’s going to be very important that animal health and public health officials work together to study and understand this virus, to go ahead and be prepared.”

Tracking infections ‘certainly is a challenge,’ says Yukon vet

Across the border in the Yukon, territorial veterinarian Jane Harms said she wasn’t surprised to learn of the infected polar bear in Alaska given the virus’s spread among mammals elsewhere.

Yukon, however, has not seen much evidence of infection in the territory’s wildlife so far. Harms said the last known infection was in a wild bird last April. There has also been one known case in a red fox, a little over a year ago.

As in Alaska, it can be hard to track infections in the territory’s remote regions, Harms said. Wildlife officials often rely on members of the public to notify them of any sick or dead animals they see while out on the land.

“But it certainly is a challenge,” she said.

Harms said the greatest concern right now is for wild bird populations, because it’s clear the disease can be transmitted easily from bird to bird.

The risk of widespread, ongoing transmission between mammals is less clear, she said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen quite this scope in terms of the number of mammals that have been infected or the range of species. And so we now can add polar bears to that list — but it’s already getting to be a fairly long list and that’s relatively unprecedented,” she said.

“And anytime you have a situation that’s sort of unprecedented with regard to wildlife health, that is definitely of concern and something that we are are watching quite closely.”

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Health

Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

Published

16 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

Published

2 days ago

September 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.

The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.

Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.

“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”

The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.

A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.

Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.

“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.

Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.

The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.

“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

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Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

Published

3 days ago

September 10, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.

Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.

The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.

“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.

Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.

A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

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