Disease

The recent deaths of six children in Ontario and four children in British Columbia from a bacterial infection is grabbing parents’ attention. Doctors say severe cases of invasive Group A streptococcal infection are extremely rare. An electron microscope image shows Group A Streptococcus in orange. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-NIAID via AP

Get kids up-to-date on vaccinations, watch for signs of Strep A: doctors

Bacterial infection has been linked to 4 child deaths in B.C. and another 6 in Ontario this winter

 

The BC Centre for Disease Control says cases of streptococcus pyogenes are on the rise in B.C., and contributed to the deaths of five children in 2023. (Pixabay photo)

4 child deaths in last month linked to rising strep A infections: BCCDC

Although rarely fatal, cases of the infection are increasing across Canada

 

A Florida Department of Health employee processes a urine sample on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. In B.C., residents in eight communities have the option of ordering their own lab requisitions for STI tests, instead of having to wait for a doctor’s appointment. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

B.C. online STI testing service seeing 3,000 people a month

Get Checked Online allows people to order their own lab requisitions, instead of waiting on a doctor

 

Jayden Hargreaves (middle), 18, is this year’s ambassador for the Vancouver Island Walk & Roll for MDC at Courtenay’s Airpark on Sept. 23. Photo courtesy of Denise Hargreaves

Annual walk for muscular dystrophy returning to Vancouver Island

The Walk & Roll for Muscular Dystrophy Canada will be hosted in the Comox Valley

Jayden Hargreaves (middle), 18, is this year’s ambassador for the Vancouver Island Walk & Roll for MDC at Courtenay’s Airpark on Sept. 23. Photo courtesy of Denise Hargreaves
A total of 66 people took part in the Move to Cure ALS event in Polson Park in Vernon Saturday, June 10, 2023. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Move to Cure ALS event supports unique B.C. research model

66 people participated in the event in Vernon, with funds supporting a research effort that’s receiving worldwide attention

A total of 66 people took part in the Move to Cure ALS event in Polson Park in Vernon Saturday, June 10, 2023. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)
Linda MacMullen, who has been battling myasthenia gravis for more than two decades, poses with her two support dogs, Sierra (left) and Bailey. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)

Vancouver Island woman with rare autoimmune disease is hoping for more conclusive treatment

Prospect of a new drug to combat myasthenia gravis falls short for Linda MacMullen

Linda MacMullen, who has been battling myasthenia gravis for more than two decades, poses with her two support dogs, Sierra (left) and Bailey. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)
The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) bacteria is shown in a 2006 high magnification scanning electron micrograph (SEM) image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, CDC - Janice Carr

COVID-19 pandemic stalled progress on eliminating tuberculosis among Inuit: officials

Advocacy group aiming to reduce rate of disease to 100 cases per 100,000 by 2025, eliminate it by 2030

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) bacteria is shown in a 2006 high magnification scanning electron micrograph (SEM) image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, CDC - Janice Carr
Free range chickens are seen in Abbortsford, B.C. Monday, March 28, 2011. Over the last few months, Canadians have been hearing about the spread of H5N1 avian flu, taking an enormous toll on poultry farms across the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

What we know about H5N1 avian flu and the risk to humans

Risk to humans remains low despite spread among poultry

Free range chickens are seen in Abbortsford, B.C. Monday, March 28, 2011. Over the last few months, Canadians have been hearing about the spread of H5N1 avian flu, taking an enormous toll on poultry farms across the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
FILE - A relative adjusts the oxygen mask of a tuberculosis patient at a TB hospital on World Tuberculosis Day in Hyderabad, India, March 24, 2018. The number of people infected with tuberculosis, including the kind resistant to drugs, rose globally for the first time in years, according to a report issued Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 by the World Health Organization. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)

WHO: Tuberculosis cases rise for the first time in years

More than 10 million people worldwide were sickened by tuberculosis in 2021

FILE - A relative adjusts the oxygen mask of a tuberculosis patient at a TB hospital on World Tuberculosis Day in Hyderabad, India, March 24, 2018. The number of people infected with tuberculosis, including the kind resistant to drugs, rose globally for the first time in years, according to a report issued Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 by the World Health Organization. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)
FILE - A person walks by the headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on April 27, 2018, in Seattle. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, that it will commit $1.2 billion to the effort to end polio worldwide. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Gates Foundation pledges $1.2B to eradicate polio globally

Money will be used to stop outbreaks of new variants of the virus

FILE - A person walks by the headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on April 27, 2018, in Seattle. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, that it will commit $1.2 billion to the effort to end polio worldwide. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE — The Biogen Inc., headquarters is shown March 11, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass. Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer’s disease soared early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, after Japan’s Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease’s progress in a late-stage study. Eisai announced results late Tuesday from a global study of nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

VIDEO: Alzheimer’s drug shows promise in early results of study

Patient decline reduced by 27% in initial study

FILE — The Biogen Inc., headquarters is shown March 11, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass. Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer’s disease soared early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, after Japan’s Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease’s progress in a late-stage study. Eisai announced results late Tuesday from a global study of nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
From left to right, U2 singer Bono, Philanthropist and Co-Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron congratulate each other on stage during the Global Fund to Fight AIDS event at the Lyon’s congress hall, central France, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Laurent Cipriani

Advocates say Canada should commit $1.2 billion to fight against AIDS, TB and malaria

Investment, with other countries’ help, could save 20 million lives over next few years: advocates

From left to right, U2 singer Bono, Philanthropist and Co-Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron congratulate each other on stage during the Global Fund to Fight AIDS event at the Lyon’s congress hall, central France, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Laurent Cipriani
This March 2002 file photo shows a deer tick under a microscope in the entomology lab at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown, R.I. Lyme disease has settled so deeply into parts of Canada many public health units now just assume if you get bitten by a tick, you should be treated for lyme disease. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Victoria Arocho

Online map tracks B.C.’s high-risk Lyme disease zones

About 1 in 100 ticks carry Lyme disease in B.C.

This March 2002 file photo shows a deer tick under a microscope in the entomology lab at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown, R.I. Lyme disease has settled so deeply into parts of Canada many public health units now just assume if you get bitten by a tick, you should be treated for lyme disease. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Victoria Arocho
Necrotizing fasciitis, a disease that is difficult and expensive to treat and often fatal, has cropped up in six dogs in Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach since October. (Stock photo)

Veterinarian issues alert about flesh-eating disease in dogs in Nanaimo and Parksville

Six cases of necrotizing fasciitis reported on central Island since the fall

Necrotizing fasciitis, a disease that is difficult and expensive to treat and often fatal, has cropped up in six dogs in Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach since October. (Stock photo)
Avian flu has been detected in the Comox Valley. (Black Press file)

Comox egg producer taking measures against avian flu

Cat and Crow Farm owners warned of avian flu in the area

Avian flu has been detected in the Comox Valley. (Black Press file)
The Global Alliance to End Parkinson’s Disease is marking the 2022 World Parkinson’s Day with the launch of a new international symbol of awareness, “The Spark.” (Courtesy the Global Alliance to End Parkinson’s Disease)

‘We need some urgency behind this’: B.C. advocate calls for action on World Parkinson’s Day

New ‘spark’ symbol released to inspire conversation, awareness around growing disease

The Global Alliance to End Parkinson’s Disease is marking the 2022 World Parkinson’s Day with the launch of a new international symbol of awareness, “The Spark.” (Courtesy the Global Alliance to End Parkinson’s Disease)
Using a specialized chamber, UVic microbiology professor Caroline Cameron works with the bacterium that causes syphilis. She’s researching a better diagnostic test and vaccine for the STI. (Courtesy UVic Photo Services)

UVic researcher working to develop syphilis vaccine after spike in new cases

More than 1,400 B.C. residents contracted the STI in 2021

Using a specialized chamber, UVic microbiology professor Caroline Cameron works with the bacterium that causes syphilis. She’s researching a better diagnostic test and vaccine for the STI. (Courtesy UVic Photo Services)
Members of the Parkinson Wellness Project take part in an exercise class, weeks before the centre’s closure in 2020 due to the pandemic. (Black Press Media file photo)

Parkinson Wellness Project bringing unparalleled care back to Victoria

Therapeutic fitness sessions, educational opportunities make a ‘significant difference’ for clients

Members of the Parkinson Wellness Project take part in an exercise class, weeks before the centre’s closure in 2020 due to the pandemic. (Black Press Media file photo)
Graeme Johnston of Denman Island has been very ill after exposure to bacteria more typically found in tropical waters. Photo supplied

Denman Island man battles infection from rare bacteria

Graeme Johnston was likely exposed in ocean after suffering leg wound, says wife

Graeme Johnston of Denman Island has been very ill after exposure to bacteria more typically found in tropical waters. Photo supplied
This photograph of a computer screen during a virtual interview on April 9, 2021, shows Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, right, as he sits with his wife Fran DeWine while she holds a printed copy of the Yellow Springs News issue page from April 28, 1955 that shows DeWine as a then second-grader, while receiving his polio vaccination. Tens of millions of today’s older Americans lived through the polio epidemic, their childhood summers dominated by concern about the virus. Some parents banned their kids from public swimming pools and neighborhood playgrounds and avoided large gatherings. Some of those from the polio era are sharing their memories with today’s youngsters as a lesson of hope for the battle against COVID-19. Soon after polio vaccines became widely available, U.S. cases and death tolls plummeted to hundreds a year, then dozens in the 1960s, and to U.S. eradication in 1979.(AP Photo/Dan Sewell)

Polio: When vaccines and re-emergence were just as daunting

Survivors sharing their memories with today’s younger people as a lesson of hope

This photograph of a computer screen during a virtual interview on April 9, 2021, shows Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, right, as he sits with his wife Fran DeWine while she holds a printed copy of the Yellow Springs News issue page from April 28, 1955 that shows DeWine as a then second-grader, while receiving his polio vaccination. Tens of millions of today’s older Americans lived through the polio epidemic, their childhood summers dominated by concern about the virus. Some parents banned their kids from public swimming pools and neighborhood playgrounds and avoided large gatherings. Some of those from the polio era are sharing their memories with today’s youngsters as a lesson of hope for the battle against COVID-19. Soon after polio vaccines became widely available, U.S. cases and death tolls plummeted to hundreds a year, then dozens in the 1960s, and to U.S. eradication in 1979.(AP Photo/Dan Sewell)