Health
B.C. study finds people with schizophrenia at higher risk of death during extreme heat
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A new British Columbia study suggests people with schizophrenia may be at higher risk of death during extreme heat events.
The study, conducted by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and published in the journal GeoHealth looked at the more than 600 deaths recorded during the 2021 heat dome.
Researchers compared the prevalence of 26 chronic conditions among those who died during the heat dome with people who died over the same period in the previous nine years.
“The risk for people with schizophrenia tripled during the heat dome compared to those typical summer periods,” said Michael Lee, an environmental epidemiologist with the BCCDC.
Lee said the study does not allow researchers to make conclusive statements about why those death occurred, but has allowed them to develop several hypotheses.
“Mental illnesses and schizophrenia are often associated with social isolation and lower socioeconomic status, both of which we know are important risk factors for dying during extreme heat,” Lee said.
“Schizophrenia and other mental health conditions are often treated with antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, some of which are known to affect body temperature regulation.”
Many people with schizophrenia also suffer from a condition called anosognosia, which prevents a person from perceiving their own health status, meaning many may not have realized they were overheating, he added.
The study also found links between depression and deaths during the heat dome. People with depression accounted for 41 per cent of deaths during the control period, while during the heat dome they made up nearly 60 per cent of deaths.
Lee said the study shows the need to improve access to cool indoor air and to increase community support networks for people with mental illness and other vulnerable British Columbians.
He said it’s up to everyone to reach out to those who are vulnerable in their communities to help make sure they understand the risks and have a plan to stay cool during extreme weather.
When extreme heat happens, he said, it’s also crucial that we reach out to those same people to check in on them.
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In the wake of the deadly heat dome, the B.C. government made numerous changes around how it communicates extreme heat events.
Those include the use of text alerts and more proactive warnings to reach people at the highest risk.
“We are dealing with health care. We have to deal with broader determinants of health and need to provide support for those with chronic illnesses,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said.
The BCCDC study also found a higher risk of death during extreme heat events for people who use substances and people with chronic conditions such as kidney disease, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes, most of which it said were already well-recognized risk factors.
It said it was working with a variety of groups including regional health authorities, BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services and BC Schizophrenia Society to prepare for future heat emergencies.
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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.
The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.
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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.
The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.
Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”
From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.
Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.
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Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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