Comments closedCongress must act now to ensure a treatment is found for this terrible disease that affects millions of Americans and their families. Far too many patients with Long COVID have struggled to get their symptoms taken seriously.
As respiratory season winds down, a mask mandate in hospitals is being dropped but a COVID spring booster program is ramping up to strengthen waning protection for the most vulnerable.
“We are returning to the rules that were in place prior to respiratory illness season,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said Monday on the suspension of the mask mandate, likely to be a seasonal requirement.
The B.C. Health Ministry says given the decreased rates of viral respiratory infections in the community, additional infection prevention and control measures implemented last fall in health-care settings — such as masks — are no longer required at all times.
Comments closedCOVID-19 became the second leading cause of death globally in the year after it was declared a pandemic, according to a study published in the Lancet.
While heart disease remained the top killer, COVID “radically altered” the main five causes of death for the first time in 30 years, displacing stroke, the publication said. In 2021, 94 in every 100,000 people died from COVID, on an age-standardized basis.
Comments closedComments closedIt’s an invisible and new condition. Many people don’t believe that long COVID is real or exists. And unfortunately, that permeates through the healthcare system. Even outside of the medical system, there is a broader societal awareness that is lacking.
A new study, looking at the replication stage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, discovered important mechanisms in its replication that could be the foundation for new antiviral therapies.
The study, which set out to investigate how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates once it enters the cells, has made surprising discoveries that could be the foundation for future antiviral therapies. It also has important theoretical implications as the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has, so far, received less attention from researchers.
Comments closedThe Durham Region Health Department is investigating a confirmed case of measles in the region after an adult was exposed during a recent trip abroad.
In a news release on Wednesday, the health department confirmed that “a local adult” is currently isolating at home after acquiring the illness, but it is not mentioned where in Durham region the adult resides.
Durham health has determined that individuals who travelled on the Royal Jordanian Airlines RJ271 flight on Thursday, March 28 departing from Jordan at 10:43 a.m. and arriving to Pearson airport on the same day at 5:24 p.m. local time — may have been exposed to the virus.
Comments closedThree more New Brunswickers have died from COVID-19, and one child died of influenza, according to data from the province updated Wednesday.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have slightly increased, while influenza hospitalizations remained steady in the period of March 17 to March 23, according to the provincial Respiratory Watch report.
“COVID-19 activity remains moderate; some indicators (number of cases, percent positivity, and hospitalizations) increased slightly,” the report says.
The person who died of influenza was four years old or younger.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last night released a detailed analysis of H5N1 avian flu samples taken from a patient in Texas who was exposed to sick cows, which suggests that the infection might involve the eyes but perhaps not the upper respiratory tract.
Also, when CDC scientists compared the human H5N1 samples to viruses from cattle, wild birds, and poultry, they found in the human sample a mutation with known links to host adaptation.
Comments closedThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service yesterday announced that tests have now confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a New Mexico dairy herd and that the virus has now been confirmed in five more Texas dairy herds.
Part of quickly evolving developments, the announcement came shortly after Texas health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first human case, which involves a person from Texas who had contact with dairy cattle, highlighting the risk to farm workers.
Comments closedFederal and state health officials today reported that a person connected to a dairy farm in Texas has tested positive for H5N1 avian flu, the first known case linked to sick dairy cows and the nation’s second since the virus began circulating in wild bird and poultry in 2022.
Today’s case announcement underscores new interim guidance that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released over the weekend on preventing, detecting, and responding to avian flu infections in humans, which are very rare and mainly pose a threat to people who are exposed to sick animals or contaminated environments.
Comments closedCanadian LifeLabs customers have only a few days left to file an application for a class-action settlement resulting from a major data breach.
Those who live in Canada and used LifeLabs’ services on or before Dec. 17, 2019, may apply for the settlement, but must do so by the end of the week.
Settlement class members who complete a valid claim form before the Saturday deadline will be eligible to get an estimated compensation of $50 to $150.
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