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Norovirus: What to know about the ‘extremely common’ bug as cases rise in Canada

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The very contagious norovirus that is known for causing inflammation of the stomach and intestines is rising across the country — but it is not uncommon during this time of the year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

The number of cases of norovirus has been on the rise “both at the national level and within several provinces,” since January, PHAC confirmed to Global News in an email Wednesday. Infections have increased in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, the agency said.

The agency noted that the number of cases reported to the National Enteric Surveillance Program (NESP) since Jan. 1 “is generally comparable with the number of cases reported in the same seasonal period of previous years (i.e., 2015 – 2019).” The agency uses different surveillance systems to monitor outbreaks of norovirus, including the NESP which oversees data for 14 different pathogens that cause foodborne illness.

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While there is no prescription medication to treat norovirus, according to Health Canada’s website, “most people begin to feel better on their own” within two to three days of infection.

There are no “long-term health effects. People can also get norovirus more than once,” the website states.

According to Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, many people experience “pretty significant nausea and vomiting” post-infection, “but then people tend to recover over the next couple of days.”

Some symptoms of norovirus include diarrhea, stomach pain, and cramps. Some may also experience chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and even low-grade fever, Health Canada states on its website.

“It’s important to remember that norovirus, sadly, is extremely common,” Bogoch told Global News. “The real treatment for this is rest and keeping up with fluids and electrolytes.”

 

How does norovirus spread?

Norovirus spreads through sharing food or utensils with an infected person, according to Health Canada’s website. It can also spread if one touches their mouth without washing hands after touching a contaminated surface.

Eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated liquids is also responsible for the spread norovirus between people, the website states.

According to PHAC, about four million people in Canada get sick every year from the food they consume. “Norovirus causes more than 1 million cases of non-travel related foodborne illness each year,” the agency said.

However, most people make “a full recovery,” from norovirus, said Bogoch.

“We just have to watch for more vulnerable individuals, especially the youngest and the oldest who might not be able to keep up with their fluids and electrolytes,” the doctor said.

Cases of norovirus have been on the rise in the United States as well. According the to the U.S. Centre for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from August 2022 to early January, 225 norovirus outbreaks were reported by states taking part in a federal surveillance program.

Norovirus can easily contaminate food and water because it only takes a very small amount of virus particles to make a person sick, the U.S. CDC says on their website.

“Food and water can get contaminated with norovirus in many ways,” the agency states. Moreover, food that “is grown or harvested with contaminated water, such as oysters harvested from contaminated water, or fruit and vegetables irrigated with contaminated water in the field,” can lead to the spread of norovirus.

 

How to prevent the virus from spreading

Bogoch said PHAC’s “surveillance for this is as good as it can be,” so the key things for Canadians to follow in order to curb spread are hand sanitization and staying home when they feel sick.

“Soap and water (are) the most appropriate way to wash your hands. Norovirus is pretty hardy. It can stick to surfaces and survive on surfaces rather easily,” cautioned Bogoch.

The norovirus is quite resistant to heat and cold, said Bogoch and it can also withstand alcohol. So, “the alcohol hand sanitizers don’t do as good a job as soap and water.”

Noroviruses can infect people of all ages, according to Bogoch and most outbreaks occur in clusters and in places where people come in close contact like schools, cruise ships or hospitals.

But there are ways to protect oneself and other people.

Health Canada says additional precautions like cooking shellfish thoroughly before eating, especially oysters and clams, as well as raw fruits and vegetables, help curb the virus from spreading. Other recommendations from the agency include cleaning and disinfecting surfaces “after an episode of illness” and immediately washing clothing and linens “that are soiled with vomit or diarrhea.”

 

Why is the norovirus spreading now?

According to PHAC, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic period in 2020, people were wearing masks, hand sanitizing more frequently and practicing physical distancing with others, which “significantly reduced” the spread of pathogens like the norovirus.

“Comparison of norovirus cases reported to date in 2023 against those reported during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic period (i.e., 2020 – 2022) should be carried out with caution,” said PHAC, “as several factors associated with the pandemic resulted in significantly reduced reporting of enteric pathogens, including norovirus.”

Bogoch also pointed out that a lot of times cases of norovirus go unreported as many don’t seek care for it.

“A lot of the time people that get this don’t need to seek care. They have a terrible bout of vomiting or sometimes diarrhea, and it gets better in a day or two,” said Bogoch.

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Measles case reported locally turns out to be negative: health unit

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NEWS RELEASE
SIMCOE MUSKOKA DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT
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On March 26, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) was notified by Public Health Ontario’s (PHO) laboratory that due to laboratory error, the case of measles that had been lab-confirmed positive on March 12, based on symptoms and a positive urine measles laboratory result by PHO’s laboratory, is in fact negative for the measles virus.

“With this new information of the negative lab result, we believe that that individual was not infected with measles and that there has not been any public exposure to measles resulting from this individual’s illness,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health. “We recognize that notifying the public of what we believed to be a positive measles case in our area created worry, anxiety and disruption for some, and we regret this.

“We do know that, despite best efforts, on rare occasions laboratory errors can occur. We are working closely with the PHO’s laboratory to do all that we can to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.”

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads very easily through airborne transmission. The measles virus can live in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours.

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Symptoms of measles begin seven to 21 days after exposure and include fever, runny nose, cough, drowsiness, and red eyes. Small white spots appear on the inside of the mouth and throat but are not always present. Three to seven days after symptoms begin, a red, blotchy rash appears on the face and then progresses down the body.

The risk of transmission to those vaccinated with two doses is low, and when it does occur tends to show a reduction in the severity of these symptoms.

“Although we are relieved for the individual involved, and for all Simcoe-Muskoka residents, that this case has now been confirmed as negative, we know that measles is still active in Ontario at this time and the potential remains for new cases to arise, especially given the increase in Ontarians travelling to areas in the world that have higher numbers of measles cases,” said Dr. Gardner. “This is why we continue to advise individuals to keep up to date with their routine immunizations, including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.”

The risk of measles is low for people who have been fully immunized with two doses of measles vaccine or those born before 1970; however, many children have been delayed in receiving their routine childhood immunizations and people who have not had two doses of measles vaccine are at higher risk of contracting the disease.

People who do get sick usually recover without treatment, but measles can be more severe for infants, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems. Possible complications include middle-ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea, or encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and occasionally death in the very young. Even individuals who are up to date with the measles vaccine should watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after exposure.

For more information about measles, please visit smdhu.org or call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520, Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to speak with a public health professional.

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Kate Middleton Not Alone. Cancer On Rise For People Under 50, Say Experts

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Kate Middleton revealed on Friday that her cancer was discovered after she received abdominal surgery

London:

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When Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed she was being treated for cancer last week, part of the shock was that an otherwise healthy 42-year-old has a disease that mostly plagues older people.

However, researchers have been increasingly sounding the alarm that more and more people under 50 are getting cancer — and no one knows why.

Across the world, the rate of under-50s diagnosed with 29 common cancers surged by nearly 80 percent between 1990 and 2019, a large study in BMJ Oncology found last year.

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The researchers predicted the number of new cancer cases among younger adults will rise another 30 percent by the end of this decade, with wealthy countries particularly affected.

The increase in cases — and soaring global population — means that the number of deaths among under 50s from cancer has risen by nearly 28 percent over the last 30 years.

This occurred even as the odds of people of all ages surviving cancer have roughly doubled over the last half century.

Shivan Sivakumar, a cancer researcher at the UK’s University of Birmingham, called it an “epidemic” of young adult cancer.

Since Kate Middleton revealed on Friday that her cancer was discovered after she received abdominal surgery earlier this year, Sivakumar and other doctors have spoken out about the uptick in younger cancer patients they have been seeing at their clinics.

While breast cancer remains the most common for people under 50, the researchers expressed particular concern about the rise of gastrointestinal cancers — such as of the colon, pancreas, liver and oesophagus — in younger adults.

Colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer deaths in men under 50 in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. For women, it is number two — behind only breast cancer.

One high profile case of colorectal cancer was “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 in 2020.

Why is this happening?

“We just don’t have the evidence yet” to say exactly what is causing this rise, Sivakumar told AFP, adding it was likely a combination of factors.

Helen Coleman, a cancer epidemiology professor at Queen’s University Belfast who has studied early onset cancer in Northern Ireland, told AFP there were two potential explanations.

One is that people in their 40s were exposed to factors known to cause cancer — such tobacco smoke, alcohol or being obese — at an earlier age than previous generations.

She pointed out that the “obesity epidemic” did not start until the 1980s.

Sivakumar felt that at least part of the puzzle could be explained by obesity.

However, there is “another wave” of under-50 patients who are neither obese nor genetically predisposed still getting cancer, he emphasised, adding that this could not be put down to “statistical chance”.

The other theory, Coleman said, is that “something different” has been going on with her generation.

Fingers have been pointed out a range of possible culprits — including chemicals, new drugs and microplastics — but none have been proven.

Some have suggested that so-called ultra-processed foods could be to blame. “But there’s very little data to back any of that up,” Coleman said.

Another theory is that the food we eat could be changing our gut microbiome.

While there is nothing conclusive yet, Coleman said her own research suggested that cancer causes changes to the microbiome, not the other way around.

Anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists have even tried to blame Covid-19 vaccines.

This is easily disproven, because the rise in young adult cancer has taken place over decades, but the vaccines have only been around for a few years.

What can be done?

To address the rise in younger colorectal cancer, in 2021 the US lowered the recommended age for screening to 45. Other countries have yet to follow suit.

But the researchers hoped that Catherine’s experience would remind people at home that they should consult their doctor if they sense anything is wrong.

“People know their bodies really well,” Sivakumar said.

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“If you really feel that something isn’t right, don’t delay — just get yourself checked out.”

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Almost 3,000 students suspended in Waterloo Region over immunization issues

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Close to 3,000 children attending elementary school across Waterloo Region were suspended from school on Wednesday morning for not having up-to-date immunization records.

The region says Waterloo Public Health suspended 2,969 students under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).

For several months, the region has been campaigning for people to get their children’s vaccinations up to date, including sending letters home to parents on a couple of occasions, warning that students’ records needed to be up to date or they would be suspended.

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It announced in January that 32,000 students did not have up-to-date records: 22,000 elementary students and 10,000 high school students.


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“We have made remarkable progress from the original 27,567 immunization notices we sent to parents in November and December 2023,” Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, medical officer of health, stated.

“Since that time, we have resolved more than 24,500 outdated vaccination records, providing students with valuable protection against these serious and preventable diseases.”

The high school students still have a few weeks to get their records up to date or else face suspension.

The ISPA requires students to have proof-of-vaccination records for diphtheria, polio, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox) and meningitis, which must be on file with public health.

Public health says caregivers whose children are suspended will need to book an appointment at regionofwaterloo.ca/vaccines for clinics, which will be held in Cambridge and Waterloo on weekdays.

“Given the high number of suspensions, it may take several days before you can be seen at an appointment and return your child to school,” a release from the region warns.

“Record submission and questions must be done in person to ensure immediate resolution.”

The last time suspensions over immunizations were issued was in 2019, when 1,032 students were suspended.

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