Canadian heading World Health Organization’s fight against monkeypox

Health

Canadian heading World Health Organization’s fight against monkeypox

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2022

Sonia Ulebor

MONTREAL — A Canadian is playing a major role in the World Health Organizations’ fight against monkeypox.

Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the technical lead for the effort to combat a global outbreak of the virus at the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, grew up in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Ottawa.

A graduate of McGill University’s school of medicine, Lewis practiced in Montreal before joining the WHO. The organization is currently working to quell the spread of monkeypox, which comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox.

The Canadian Press reached Lewis in Geneva, Switzerland for an interview.

—–

What do we know about the propagation of this disease?

We think it’s spread by rodents, but we don’t know what species it naturally lives in. In Africa, we find the virus in the Congo Rope Squirrel, the Gambian pouched rat, the dormouse and things like that. People hunt in the forest and bring back this while meat that they need to prepare. That’s the traditional type of exposure (to the virus). It’s also possible the family is eating undercooked meat. This meat could also be sold in a market, so even people who don’t have any direct exposure to the forest can be exposed.

But an other major factor is that smallpox was eradicated in 1980, so people who were born after 1980, or in certain countries after 1960 or 1970, didn’t have the opportunity to be vaccinated against smallpox.

Has monkeypox been seen in the west before?

There were two cases in the United Kingdom in 2021 and two in the United States, also in 2021. There was also an outbreak in the U.S. in 2003, but it had nothing in common with the current situation. It was very strange. It involved prairie dogs that were imported to be sold as pets, and children started to get sick after being scratched or bitten. It took around three months to understand the nature of the outbreak and to contain it.

How did the current outbreak begin?

We received reports from the United Kingdom, once again. It was a traveller who returned from Nigeria and discovered that she had monkeypox and I said to myself, “okay, it’s started.” The U.K. found an outbreak in a family, and it was completely unexpected because it involved three members of the same family. It was the first time that we saw monkeypox outside of Africa in someone who had not recently travelled, so that was new. (The British) then found it in their laboratories’ samples that tested positive and that came from men who had sexual relations with other men.

At the same time, Portugal reported an outbreak of people with undiagnosed lesions. They were negative for herpes, negative for syphilis, so the Portuguese were searching for information, and relatively quickly, Portugal and the U.K. realized that they were facing the same thing.

It was men having who had sex with men, who had participated in certain events and then returned home.

The first cases were all associated with travel from central Europe. That’s about where we are now, except that we’re seing a lot of cases and it’s spreading in this group of people who have frequent physical contact with more than one person, possibly in a very short period of time, so the conditions are right for rapid transmission and propagation.

So there is an opportunity to act that should not be missed?

Yes, and it’s crucial to take advantage (of this time) before the virus affects a more general population, family members, children, vulnerable people, for example, people who are HIV-positive. But we can’t be alarmist. The vast majority of cases are still being reported in this group, so it’s there that the transmission is happening, it’s not too late to stop the outbreak in this group, although it might be difficult. That said, there are still a lot of things that we don’t know about the virus, and we have to be honest and admit that. The virus itself might have gone through changes that make it more transmissible, but we have certainty seen behaviours that make it more transmissible. This disease presents as an infectious disease that spreads through close contact, including sexual contact. So the message to the public is this: educate yourself, learn to recognize the signs and symptoms, know in what circumstances you could be infected, protect yourself and protect others and, when in doubt, seek a diagnosis.

This interview, which took place June 6, 2022, has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

—-

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2022.

Jean-Benoit Legault, The Canadian Press

Health

April 22nd to 30th is Immunization Awareness Week – Oldies 107.7

Published

3 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

<!–April 22nd to 30th is Immunization Awareness Week | Oldies 107.7

isIE8 = true;
Date.now = Date.now || function() return +new Date; ;

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Health

AHS confirms case of measles in Edmonton – CityNews Edmonton

Published

5 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed a case of measles in Edmonton, and is advising the public that the individual was out in public while infectious.

Measles is an extremely contagious disease that is spread easily through the air, and can only be prevented through immunization.

AHS says individuals who were in the following locations during the specified dates and times, may have been exposed to measles.

April 16
- Edmonton International Airport, international arrivals and baggage claim area — between 3:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
April 20
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
April 22
- 66^th Medical Clinic (13635 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Pharmacy 66 (13637 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
April 23
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 4:40 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.

AHS says anyone who attended those locations during those times is at risk of developing measles if they’ve not had two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine.

Those who have not had two doses, who are pregnant, under one year of age, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk of getting measles and should contact Health Link at 1-877-720-0707.

Symptoms

Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3° C or higher, cough, runny nose, and/or red eyes, a red blotchy rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down the body and then to the arms and legs.

If you have any of these symptoms stay home and call Health Link.

In Alberta, measles vaccine is offered, free of charge, through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program. Children in Alberta typically receive their first dose of measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and their second dose at 18 months of age.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Health

U.S. tightens rules for dairy cows a day after bird flu virus fragments found in pasteurized milk samples – Toronto Star

Published

6 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

/* OOVVUU Targeting */
const path = ‘/news/canada’;
const siteName = ‘thestar.com’;
let domain = ‘thestar.com’;
if (siteName === ‘thestar.com’)
domain = ‘thestar.com’;
else if (siteName === ‘niagarafallsreview.ca’)
domain = ‘niagara_falls_review’;
else if (siteName === ‘stcatharinesstandard.ca’)
domain = ‘st_catharines_standard’;
else if (siteName === ‘thepeterboroughexaminer.com’)
domain = ‘the_peterborough_examiner’;
else if (siteName === ‘therecord.com’)
domain = ‘the_record’;
else if (siteName === ‘thespec.com’)
domain = ‘the_spec’;
else if (siteName === ‘wellandtribune.ca’)
domain = ‘welland_tribune’;
else if (siteName === ‘bramptonguardian.com’)
domain = ‘brampton_guardian’;
else if (siteName === ‘caledonenterprise.com’)
domain = ‘caledon_enterprise’;
else if (siteName === ‘cambridgetimes.ca’)
domain = ‘cambridge_times’;
else if (siteName === ‘durhamregion.com’)
domain = ‘durham_region’;
else if (siteName === ‘guelphmercury.com’)
domain = ‘guelph_mercury’;
else if (siteName === ‘insidehalton.com’)
domain = ‘inside_halton’;
else if (siteName === ‘insideottawavalley.com’)
domain = ‘inside_ottawa_valley’;
else if (siteName === ‘mississauga.com’)
domain = ‘mississauga’;
else if (siteName === ‘muskokaregion.com’)
domain = ‘muskoka_region’;
else if (siteName === ‘newhamburgindependent.ca’)
domain = ‘new_hamburg_independent’;
else if (siteName === ‘niagarathisweek.com’)
domain = ‘niagara_this_week’;
else if (siteName === ‘northbaynipissing.com’)
domain = ‘north_bay_nipissing’;
else if (siteName === ‘northumberlandnews.com’)
domain = ‘northumberland_news’;
else if (siteName === ‘orangeville.com’)
domain = ‘orangeville’;
else if (siteName === ‘ourwindsor.ca’)
domain = ‘our_windsor’;
else if (siteName === ‘parrysound.com’)
domain = ‘parrysound’;
else if (siteName === ‘simcoe.com’)
domain = ‘simcoe’;
else if (siteName === ‘theifp.ca’)
domain = ‘the_ifp’;
else if (siteName === ‘waterloochronicle.ca’)
domain = ‘waterloo_chronicle’;
else if (siteName === ‘yorkregion.com’)
domain = ‘york_region’;

let sectionTag = ”;
try
if (domain === ‘thestar.com’ && path.indexOf(‘wires/’) = 0)
sectionTag = ‘/business’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/autos’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/autos’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/entertainment’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/entertainment’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/life’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/life’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/news’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/news’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/politics’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/politics’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/sports’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/sports’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/opinion’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/opinion’;

} catch (ex)
const descriptionUrl = ‘window.location.href’;
const vid = ‘mediainfo.reference_id’;
const cmsId = ‘2665777’;
let url = `https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/58580620/$domain/video/oovvuu$sectionTag&description_url=$descriptionUrl&vid=$vid&cmsid=$cmsId&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640×480&ad_rule=0&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=`;
url = url.split(‘ ‘).join(”);
window.oovvuuReplacementAdServerURL = url;

Infected cows were already prohibited from being transported out of state, but that was based on the physical characteristics of the milk, which looks curdled when a cow is infected, or a cow has decreased lactation or low appetite, both symptoms of infection.

Already a Subscriber?

You are logged in

Switch accounts

function buildUserSwitchAccountsForm()
var form = document.getElementById(‘user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’);

if (form) return;

// build form with javascript since having a form element here breaks the payment modal.
var switchForm = document.createElement(‘form’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘id’,’user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘method’,’post’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘action’,’https://www.thestar.com/tncms/auth/logout/?return=https://www.thestar.com/users/login/?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fcanada%2Fu-s-tightens-rules-for-dairy-cows-a-day-after-bird-flu-virus-fragments-found%2Farticle_985b0bac-0252-11ef-abc6-eb884d6a1f0c.html’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘style’,’display:none;’);

var refUrl = document.createElement(‘input’); //input element, text
refUrl.setAttribute(‘type’,’hidden’);
refUrl.setAttribute(‘name’,’referer_url’);
refUrl.setAttribute(‘value’,’https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/u-s-tightens-rules-for-dairy-cows-a-day-after-bird-flu-virus-fragments-found/article_985b0bac-0252-11ef-abc6-eb884d6a1f0c.html’);

var submit = document.createElement(‘input’);
submit.setAttribute(‘type’,’submit’);
submit.setAttribute(‘name’,’logout’);
submit.setAttribute(‘value’,’Logout’);

switchForm.appendChild(refUrl);
switchForm.appendChild(submit);

document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(switchForm);

function handleUserSwitchAccounts()
window.sessionStorage.removeItem(‘bd-viafoura-oidc’); // clear viafoura JWT token
// logout user before sending them to login page via return url
document.getElementById(‘user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’).submit();
return false;

buildUserSwitchAccountsForm();

console.log(‘=====> bRemoveLastParagraph: ‘,0);

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link