While rabies kills approximately 50,000 people a year globally, there’s no reason anyone should die from rabies in places where people have access to a well developed public health system. Rabies is almost invariably fatal, but is also almost entirely preventable with appropriate and timely response to an exposure. The weak link is getting people
Presumptive H5 Avian Influenza in a Person, Canada
A presumptive case of H5 avian influenza has been reported in a teenager from British Columbia. Confirmatory testing is underway. Very little additional information has been released, so it’s hard to say how surprising and concerning it is. Information vacuums like this often lead to excessive speculation, but information sharing has to be balanced with
Podcast: Mission Rabies
Our latest WormsAndGermsPod episode is a chat with Andy Gibson and Ian Battersby about canine rabies and, in particular, the work of Mission Rabies to help achieve the goal of zero canine-mediated rabies deaths by 2030.
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Local Risks of Imported Heartworm in Dogs
I’ve had a few questions about the risks posed by heartworm in imported dogs to local dogs. (This also speaks to just how often we import heartworm-infected dogs, but that’s another story…). Here’s a bit of a deeper dive into the topic based on a fictionalized (but very typical) scenario:
You live in Guelph, Ontario
Echinococcus multilocularis in Dogs: North America
Parasites are pretty gross in general – both the organisms themselves, and the concept of them living in or on you. Some parasites are of limited concern to people and pets, but others not so much… If I made a list of “parasites I really don’t want,” Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) would be high on the
Bats and Rabies Risk Assessments
Bats are getting a lot of attention around here following the recent death of a person in Ontario from rabies. The infection was “suspected to have been acquired from direct contact with a bat…” Most rabies deaths that occur in North America nowadays are due to transmission from bats, but all too often
Salmonella Outbreak From Geckos: Canada
Outbreaks of human salmonellosis linked to reptiles are far from rare or noteworthy, but since they’re still common, clearly we still need to talk about them to help increase awareness.
The latest such outbreak in Canada involved 25 cases of Salmonella Muenchen infection in people linked to contact with geckos. Cases stretched from British Columbia
Human Rabies Case, Ontario
A tragic case of rabies in a person in Ontario was reported earlier this month. Very few details about the case have been released publicly, other than the person was exposed to a bat in Ontario and became progressively ill, later being admitted to hospital with clinical signs of encephalitis and symptoms consistent with rabies.
Raw Pet Food Company Ignores FDA’s Recall Request (Again)
In some ways, I wonder why there even are recalls for raw pet foods and Salmonella. We know contamination is common, and the contaminated foods that get identified and recalled are presumably a very small portion of the amount of contaminated food that’s in circulation. At the same time, when a problem is identified
US Human H5Nx Influenza Infection With No Known Source
A lot of infectious disease events get over-hyped by the media, which makes it a bit surprising that this case has flown a bit under the radar. It’s not a sign of an impending “influenza apocalypse,” but it’s a warning sign that more may be going on lately with flu viruses than we’ve been able