Health
Pioneering tech enables Dal experts to uncover health threats in the water
|
Researchers at Dalhousie are enhancing their ability to identify water-borne pathogens with new genetic sequencing equipment that will allow them to process samples in-house and support rapid decision-making for partners.
The team was awarded $1.1 million in funding from Research Nova Scotia for equipment that will eliminate the need to send water samples out of province, while developing a strong local capacity in processing environmental samples. The benchtop sequencer will allow timely analyses of various water surveillance samples and will increase the capabilities of the current water surveillance laboratory.
The additional equipment complements wastewater surveillance work done by the team throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Members detected several different variants of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — through advanced viral genetic sequencing from samples sent to various laboratories across the country.
“Wastewater surveillance has been an important tool in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 prevalence in populations and communities since the onset of the pandemic,” says Graham Gagnon, director of the Centre for Water Resources Studies (CWRS) at Dalhousie.
“Building on the success of this initial investment from Research Nova Scotia for wastewater surveillance, we’re now working on applying the approach beyond wastewater and beyond COVID, to other water systems and other health threats in Nova Scotia.”
On the ball
During the pandemic, the research team at Dalhousie worked with municipalities and universities across Nova Scotia to develop precision monitoring of viral loads in wastewater. The team quickly developed new prototypes for water sampling equipment, leading to new surveillance and treatment approaches to address unique water challenges.
A key piece of that surveillance toolkit was the COSCa ball, a spherical, 3D-printed device developed by Dalhousie researchers that can be easily submerged in water to collect samples. Hundreds of the porous balls have since been shipped to public health agencies, labs and other parties around the world.
“The foundational work completed as part of a pandemic response has provided additional opportunities to address a range of water issues important to Nova Scotia,” says Stefan Leslie, CEO of Research Nova Scotia.
“This work will not only continue to develop our capacity to monitor pathogens of concern in wastewater, but will also help ensure the safety of drinking and surface water.”
Prioritizing risks
In addition to the wastewater surveillance research, the CWRS team has been researching harmful algal blooms produced by cyanobacteria that have become a priority in Atlantic Canada. As a result of climate change, these bacteria are turning up at with great frequency for longer durations in lakes across Nova Scotia.
“Cyanobacteria can release toxins and other compounds that affect water quality,” says Amina Stoddart at the CWRS. “Sampling and treatment approaches are needed to better understand, monitor and prioritize risks.”
The same technology used to monitor for pathogens may also help optimize the efficiency of treatment plants. Dr. Stoddart plans to test this precision monitoring technique to better understand how treatment equipment is working.
“By directly monitoring water during the treatment process, we hope to identify methods for safely treating water that is also fast and energy efficient,” says Dr. Stoddart.
There is growing interest globally in identifying viruses present in water systems to stem the spread of disease and ensure safe water supplies. Environmental detection can provide results faster than individual clinical testing, and is often less costly.
Recommended reading: Freshwater research supports water security in Canada’s Arctic communities
Health
RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal
Article content
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.
Article content
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.
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network
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.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
$(“#homesub”).validate(
rules:
first_name:
required: true,
minlength: 2
,
last_name:
required: true,
minlength: 2
,
email:
required: true,
email: true,
minlength: 2
,
state:
required: true,
,
role:
required: true,
,
“listid[]”:
required: true,
minlength: 1
,
messages:
first_name: “Your first name is required.”,
last_name: “Your last name is required.”,
email: “Please verify your email is correct.”,
state: “Your state/province is required.”,
role: “Your role is required.”,
“listid[]”: “Select at least one list is required.”
,
submitHandler: function()
$.ajax(
type: “POST”,
url: “https://www.realagriculture.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php”,
data:
action: “realag_cc_process_subscribe_onclick”,
form: “homesub”,
data: $(“#homesub”).serialize(),
,
dataType: “html”,
timeout: 30000,
error: function(response)
console.log(response);
,
success: function(response)
$(“#homesub”).html(response);
,
);
);
});
Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
/* 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;
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.
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%2Ftoronto-reports-2-more-measles-cases-use-our-tool-to-check-the-spread-in-canada%2Farticle_20aa7df4-e88f-11ee-8fad-8f8368d7ff53.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/toronto-reports-2-more-measles-cases-use-our-tool-to-check-the-spread-in-canada/article_20aa7df4-e88f-11ee-8fad-8f8368d7ff53.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();
#ont-map-iframepadding:0;width:100%;border:0;overflow:hidden;
#ontario-cases-iframepadding:0;width:100%;border:0;overflow:hidden;
#province-table-iframepadding:0;width:100%;border:0;overflow:hidden;
console.log(‘=====> bRemoveLastParagraph: ‘,0);
-
Media22 hours ago
DJT Stock Rises. Trump Media CEO Alleges Potential Market Manipulation. – Barron's
-
Media24 hours ago
Trump Media alerts Nasdaq to potential market manipulation from 'naked' short selling of DJT stock – CNBC
-
Investment22 hours ago
Private equity gears up for potential National Football League investments – Financial Times
-
Real eState14 hours ago
Botched home sale costs Winnipeg man his right to sell real estate in Manitoba – CBC.ca
-
News21 hours ago
Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday | CTV News – CTV News Toronto
-
Business23 hours ago
Gas prices see 'largest single-day jump since early 2022': En-Pro International – Yahoo Canada Finance
-
Business14 hours ago
Dow Jones Rises But S&P, Nasdaq Fall; Nvidia, SMCI Flash Sell Signals As Bitcoin's Fourth Halving Arrives – Investor's Business Daily
-
Politics23 hours ago
Iran news: Canada, G7 urge de-escalation after Israel strike – CTV News