Every fall, Francis Lauzier walks the shoreline of the Richelieu River near his home in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu to see the snow geese congregate by the thousands.
Health
Highly pathogenic avian flu has disastrous consequences in Quebec
More than 500,000 poultry farm birds in Quebec have died or been culled due to exposure to the infectious disease; some wild birds have been affected as well.
“It was very, very sad,” he said. “And eerie.”
Mary Williams had a similar experience while walking with a friend on Nov. 29 in the same region, roughly 35 kilometres southeast of Montreal.
“There were so many dead birds, it was unbelievable,” said the resident of Ste-Thérèse, an island in the Richelieu River. “We were really spooked.”
A Parks Canada employee wearing protective clothing and a specialized mask was collecting the bodies. Employees in two more trucks would join her. It’s the avian flu, she told them.
More specifically, it was the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a deadly strain of the bird flu that is causing the “most devastating” outbreak ever in Europe and the United States, and is being seen for the first time in Quebec, with disastrous consequences.
To date, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has recorded 532,000 birds that have died or had to be culled due to exposure to the disease on 23 poultry farms in Quebec. Eleven outbreaks were still listed as “ongoing” as of Tuesday. Farms in British Columbia and Alberta have been even harder hit, suffering 2.9 million and 1.2 million deaths, respectively. More than six million birds — primarily chickens, turkeys and ducks — have been culled on commercial farms in Canada in the past 12 months, with outbreaks hitting every province except Prince Edward Island.
“This is something we’ve never had before; it’s the highest-risk strain our farmers have ever faced,” said Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, a professor at the Université de Montréal’s veterinary school who specializes in the control of infectious diseases. “Worldwide, it’s a pandemic really of highly pathogenic avian influenza. It’s in over 65 countries.”
The first cases of H5N1 in Quebec were detected in April in geese, presumed to have been infected by birds who migrated from Europe. Ducks in particular can carry the disease without getting sick, but transmit it through their secretions or feces. Wild birds can contact commercial livestock, which sometimes reside outdoors, or contaminated soil or straw can be tracked into farms on tractor tires or boots.
In mid-April, Brome Lake Ducks in the Eastern Townships announced three of their 13 facilities had been hit. The company had to kill 150,000 birds and destroy 400,000 Pekin duck eggs, and lay off 300 staff, the largest cull in the company’s 110-year history. Because the losses made up almost all of the company’s breeding stock, it would take up to a year to get back to full capacity, management said. Since insurance companies don’t compensate for bird mortalities, Brome Lake Ducks is expected to lose millions.
Diseased birds may display a lack of appetite and energy, respiratory problems like coughing and sneezing, and swollen heads, Quebec’s Agriculture Ministry notes. Because the disease is extremely infectious and has an incubation period of up to 14 days, authorities will order the culling of all birds in a barn within hours of a positive test. There is no known treatment.
There have been a few cases of the disease transferring to mammals, including raccoons, foxes, possums and minks. Close to 100 dead harbour seals were found along the banks of the Lower St. Lawrence this year as of August, about six times the usual rate of mortality. At least 15 tested positive for avian flu.
Because the virus hits mainly Canada Geese and snow geese which are now migrating south, numbers of infections are expected to drop over the winter.
At present, the virus has only hit a small fraction of the wild bird population and the roughly 1,200 commercial chicken and turkey farms in Quebec, Vaillancourt said. Scientists postulate that numbers have been higher in western Canada because there are more poultry farms, many of which are in close proximity, and more geese farms in which birds live outdoors.
“It’s the question no one has the answer for,” Lair said. “This virus first appeared in Europe and has been circulating there for two years now, so it doesn’t seem to go away very fast.
“So we should have to expect another year for sure.”
Continue Reading
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Product Name: Bizarre Sunlight Loophole Melts Belly Fat Fast!
All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors.
Bizarre Sunlight Loophole Melts Belly Fat Fast! is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.
News2 hours ago
A linebacker at West Virginia State is fatally shot on the eve of a game against his old school
News2 hours ago
Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt, who helped Detroit Lions win 2 NFL titles, dies at 92
News2 hours ago
Coastal GasLink fined $590K by B.C. environment office over pipeline build
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
Sports4 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
-
News24 hours agoTaxi driver suspected in fatal B.C. hit-and-run has left Canada: RCMP
-
News24 hours agoMore than 67 million people watched Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate. That’s way up from June
-
News24 hours agoThe ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair
-
Sports23 hours agoCanada’s Stakusic, partner Savinykh lose in doubles quarterfinals at Guadalajara Open
-
News12 hours ago
Local Toronto business story – Events Industry : new national brand, Element Event Solutions
-
News23 hours agoSouthern Baptist trustees back agency president but warn against needless controversy
-
News13 hours agoReggie Bush was at his LA-area home when 3 male suspects attempted to break in
-
News13 hours agoCanadanewsmedia news September 12, 2024: Air Canada pilot strike looms, BC transit strike talks resume
