Author: Samira Prasad

From The Globe and Mail article

Construction workers have been disproportionately affected by the worsening opioid crisis, accounting for about one in 13 opioid-related deaths in Ontario between 2017 and 2020, according to a new report published Thursday.

The report, led by researchers from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), found 428 Ontarians who were working or previously employed in the construction industry died of opioid toxicity during the 30-month period they investigated. That amounted to 7.9 per cent of the total 5,386 opioid-related deaths within that time span, even though those working in the construction industry represent 3.6 per cent of the province’s overall population.

Nearly 80 per cent of these deaths occurred at the individual’s home, the researchers found. Very few occurred on a construction site or at a hotel or motel used for work purposes.

“That was really the first thing that stood out to us is that these are overdoses happening in people’s homes and they’re happening when there aren’t people around to intervene,” said lead author Dr. Tara Gomes, who is a principal investigator of the ODPRN, a provincial network of researchers.

From the North York Mirror article

While one expert argues the response from Toronto to monkeypox spreading through a marginalized queer community has been ideal, another thinks more support is needed. Both agreed a flashback to historical HIV stigma toward sexual minority men should be avoided.

The disease, which is endemic to many African countries, spreads through respiratory droplets and physical contact. It has infected 194 people in Toronto, with the first Canadian case reported on May 19 in Montreal.

According to Darrell Tan, a clinician and scientist at the division of infectious diseases at St Michael’s Hospital, municipal public health data combined with international research collaboration, indicates 99 per cent plus of monkeypox infections in nonendemic countries are of men who have sex with men (MSM).

Following Ontario Ministry of Health guidelines, Toronto has been providing vaccine clinics to just sexual minority men. However, it’s aftercare support where the city falls flat, Michael Kwag, director of knowledge exchange and policy development at Community-Based Research Centre, said.

From the Toronto Star article

Len Tooley is one of at least 539 Canadians who have contracted monkeypox in the past two months. He’s going public, to let others know that they aren’t alone.

He says the community of gay and bisexual men currently most at risk for monkeypox has largely been left in the dark by public health when it comes to how to take care of themselves if they become sick.

“There’s really no information. People can be really on their own.”

Also, with people faced with weeks of missed work after a monkeypox diagnosis, Tooley says the province’s sick days are inadequate and two years into a pandemic, the health-care system is still not built up to care for those with unpredictable illness.

---

[Dr. Darrell] Tan, who is also an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, said the emergence of monkeypox in the community is very new, and it’s challenging to sort out the public health response and how best to support patients.

Levels of patient care should include individualized care and support, like offering symptom relief or suggestions, he says. How to care for patients with monkeypox is something the system is learning through avenues like community engagement, he adds.

“We’re getting input at all stages of the way,” he says. “I agree that there isn’t much (information) out there.”

The response to monkeypox so far from Canada and provinces including Ontario and Quebec has been adequate, but communication can be improved regarding more inclusive language in vaccination eligibility, as it should include non-binary people and trans women, says Todd Coleman, an epidemiologist specializing in LGBTQ health.

Coleman says community health organizations are also taking up the job of getting public health information out and offering support, and they do so with less funding and resources.

“They tend to mobilize and work on a diminished capacity of what’s available to public health agencies,” he says.

Tooley worked at a clinic for a decade, testing people for HIV. He says he saw the effects of shame and stigma.

And that’s why he wants to dismantle that stigma when it comes to monkeypox.

“Nobody deserves this, nobody asked for this. Monkeypox and all other infectious diseases are bigger than any one person has control over.

Media release from CIHR

July 7, 2022 — Ottawa, ON — Canadian Institutes of Health Research

When COVID-19 first emerged, the Government of Canada and the research community quickly stepped up to develop testing approaches, public health measures, and new vaccines to protect Canadians from the health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Canada is also investing in safe and effective COVID-19 therapeutics, including antiviral medications. In response to the pressing need to further evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of these treatments in non-hospitalized patients, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research joined forces with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.  

Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $10 million under this collaboration to create a pan-Canadian platform to advance research into the effectiveness and clinical challenges of new COVID-19 treatments in non-hospitalized patients. The Canadian ADAptive Platform Trial of COVID-19 Therapeutics in Community Settings (Can-ADAPT COVID) will be led by Dr. Andrew Pinto, Director of the Upstream Lab at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto, and a Professor at the University of Toronto.

In collaboration with patients, community partners, and research networks across Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, Dr. Pinto and his team will investigate outpatient medications for COVID-19 such as nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (brand name Paxlovid™) and provide key insights into whether treatments prevent hospitalization and post COVID-19 condition (“long COVID”). This study will also offer timely evidence to clinical researchers, health system managers, and public health officials in Canada and abroad.

Quotes

“Our government reacted quickly at the start of the pandemic and will keep working to keep Canadians safe. This includes providing vaccines and therapeutics to Canadians, to lessen the health impacts of COVID-19 and post COVID-19 condition symptoms in patients. Dr. Pinto’s platform will allow the research team to test new treatments as they emerge and to quickly respond to the dynamic nature of global pandemics and other health emergencies.”
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health

“This research will provide new insights and timely evidence in support of public health and clinical decision making for the effective roll out of new antiviral medications developed to treat non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients.”
Dr. Tammy Clifford
Vice-President, Research – Learning Health Systems
Canadian Institutes of Health Research

“As part of our continued response to address the health challenges of the pandemic, we continue to work closely with our partners at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Canada to further investigate new COVID-19 antiviral medications. This study will provide important evidence on treatment effectiveness that will better inform our collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Dr. Theresa Tam
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada

Quick facts

• Many drugs are being evaluated in Canada and around the world as potential treatments for COVID-19. Health Canada has authorized several of these for use in Canada.
• To provide ongoing evidence to inform treatment guidelines for COVID-19, the Government of Canada is investing $10 million in the Canadian ADAptive Platform Trial of COVID-19 Therapeutics in Community Settings (Can-ADAPT COVID). This platform will evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of COVID-19 treatments.
• Can-ADAPT COVID will enable information sharing with clinical researchers from the United Kingdom and the European Union for quicker results.

Associated links

• CanTreatCOVID
• COVID-19 treatments

Contacts

Marie-France Proulx
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health
613-957-0200

Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

From the Toronto Star article

Lower-income Ontarians continue to die of COVID-19 at much higher rates than those with higher incomes — a troubling pattern repeated in each of the province’s six pandemic waves, new data shows.

In yet another indication that COVID is not an equal-opportunity illness, researchers at the University of Toronto have found that death rates from the virus in Ontario’s lowest-income neighbourhoods have been roughly double those in the province’s richest areas throughout the pandemic.

That COVID deaths remain disproportionately concentrated in lower-income neighbourhoods even after the rollout of vaccines, antiviral medications and COVID treatments — in addition to seemingly endless calls for equitable access to public health resources — illustrates that for many the pandemic is far from over.

“It begs the question: Among whom are we flattening the curve?” said Dr. Sharmistha Mishra, an infectious disease physician and mathematical modeller at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital. Mishra heads a research team that analyzes COVID mortality data. She shared the sixth-wave analysis with the Star; the team’s analysis of the other five waves has been previously presented by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

With another wave of the virus expected this fall, Mishra and other experts are calling for the province to further fund tailored prevention and treatment strategies for the most vulnerable, including older Ontarians and communities with the lowest income brackets.

From the Medical Xpress article

A new study conducted in Canada found that children who attended centre-based childcare between 1 and 4 years of age had a lower body mass index (BMI) and were less likely to be overweight or obese in later childhood than children who had non-parental childcare that was home-based or provided by relatives or nannies. These associations were stronger for children from lower income families.

“Although more research is needed, our findings suggest that centre-based childcare may help level socioeconomic-related health disadvantages for children from low-income families,” said Michaela Kucab, a graduate student at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto, and the University of Toronto, both in Canada.

Kucab will present the findings online at Nutrition 2022 Live Online, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held June 14-16.

“We hope this work draws much-needed attention to prioritizing centre-based childcare while also encouraging future research on the impact of centre-based childcare on growth and other important health and developmental outcomes in children,” said the study’s senior author Jonathon Maguire, MD, from St. Michael’s Hospital.

Previous studies evaluating the relationship between childcare attendance and obesity have primarily focused on comparing parental care with non-parental childcare settings.

From CBC News

In late May, not long after he’d gotten through a mild bout of COVID-19, Peter Kelly spiked a sudden fever. He quickly realized it wasn’t the tail end of a COVID infection.

Over a period of several days, the Toronto resident became exhausted, and his muscles began to ache. His temperature oscillated between chills and night sweats. Then, strange sores started to appear on different parts of his body — eventually around two dozen that he could see, mostly on his legs, and painful ones hidden from view in his rectum. 

As a professional dancer, Kelly is used to pain. He’s been injured a lot — most recently, a broken rib that’s still healing — and has serious eczema, a skin condition that can cause an itchy or burning sensation. 

But Kelly had never experienced something as excruciating as the unexplained lesions emerging on sensitive areas of his body.

“This was on another level,” he later recalled. “You can’t control it. It feels like razor blades in a way, shocking you constantly.”

What followed was nearly a month of tests, three emergency room trips, one infected sore, and finally, a lab-confirmed diagnosis: Monkeypox virus or, as it’s known throughout the scientific community, MPXV.

“The physical aspect of what I went through was pretty bad, for certain moments. But what I realized was the mental health aspect of all of this was probably the main thing I was dealing with,” he said. 

“It’s such a long quarantine period.”

He’s not the only one facing pain, uncertainty and what can be a period of weeks-long isolation.

More than 200 Canadians and counting have been infected with MPXV as a result of a global outbreak that began in May. It’s a virus known for long-lasting, often painful symptoms, and people are contagious until they recover.

Physicians, advocates, and health officials are now calling for more financial and housing support to ensure people can quarantine safely, if needed, for weeks on end — with COVID offering some key lessons on how to handle this emerging public health emergency.

---

“Many folks during that long period, if they’re forced to isolate, are not going to be able to go to work, are not going to be able to pay their bills, pay the rent, put food on the table,” said Dr. Darrell Tan, an infectious diseases specialist who has treated multiple patients with MPXV at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

“And these very, very real challenges that people face, because of their willingness to adhere to public health principles, is something that I think we, as a society, have to take responsibility for.”

Media release from CHEC

Women experienced more frequent, and often more severe, violence during the pandemic, creating new challenges for violence against women services and their clients, a newly-released study has found (www.vawresearch.com/marcovaw).   

The report, entitled “Adapting the violence against women systems response to the COVID-19 pandemic” looked at the experience of staff and survivors at violence against women organizations across the Greater Toronto Area during the pandemic. The study was co-led by Dr. Alexa Yakubovich and Priya Shastri. Dr. Yakubovich is an Assistant Professor in Dalhousie University’s Department of Community Health & Epidemiology and an Affiliate Scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital. Shastri is an anti-violence advocate with the Toronto Region Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee and Woman Abuse Council of Toronto. 

“Service providers told us they were seeing a lot more clients with really severe cases of violence,” Dr. Yakubovich said. “Because of health restrictions and women being isolated at home with abusive partners, there were just worse outcomes in terms of struggling to access supports, like counselling, housing, legal support, and appropriate healthcare.” 

Results from the report will be shared at a virtual panel event on June 22 co-hosted with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation entitled “Lighting up the Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women, Housing and COVID-19” (registration at tinyurl.com/3nxsxr65). This presentation will highlight the experiences of violence against women and the impact on staff in support services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hidden homelessness, shelter access and housing interventions will be discussed. 

In addition, Dr. Yakubovich will be leading a webinar on the study findings with the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre on Family Violence Research on June 23 (https://unbvirtualclasses.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_72BEElhLQTKylhQldonmbA). 

The study also found that nearly every participating organization had to significantly change its service model due to the pandemic, in many cases without sufficient funding. The mental health of both staff and survivors was in many ways negatively impacted. Organizations often struggled with referrals, including to housing, shelter, healthcare, childcare, and legal supports. 

The report speaks to the need for increased funding to violence against women organizations and for strengthening access to housing, health, justice, and social protection systems for women experiencing violence. 

Despite the challenges, Shastri said, many staff went above and beyond to support women. Survivors described this support as lifesaving, quoting one survivor as saying: “They do amazing work… this organization has kept me alive.” 

Dr. Yakubovich has received nearly half a million dollars in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to expand the Toronto study to all of Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This summer, a team of researchers, advocates, service providers, and women who have experienced violence will begin looking at what is working well in violence against women services across the three provinces to inform better policy and practice. 

For more information, contact: 

Dr. Alexa Yakubovich: 
Email: Alexa.Yakubovich@dal.ca  

Brad Honywill:  
Communications Coordinator, 
Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC), 
C: 905-334-9259 

Attn: The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos,
Minister of Health, Government of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Duclos,

We are infectious disease physicians, medical microbiologists, and other experts from across Canada. We are warning the federal government that Canada is in the midst of a rapidly growing monkeypox epidemic. As with infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and tuberculosis, slowing transmission necessitates people isolating from others. Without immediate access to isolation supports, however, it is impossible for most people to follow this recommendation.

Under the current system, when someone is asked to isolate, they have to largely figure out how to manage the situation on their own. Most people do not have the space to effectively isolate from household members, and some live in congregate settings such as shelters. Many people can’t give up essential care-giving duties, or take time off work without losing money needed for rent or food. In addition, while people isolate, they need access to basics such as groceries and medication.

Given this impossible situation, some people may avoid getting tested for monkeypox even if they have symptoms or a known exposure. As a result, people may go without treatment, which can lead to worse individual health outcomes as well as a sustained epidemic in the community.  These problems are further exacerbated by social inequities.  To date, the global monkeypox epidemic has disproportionately affected sexual minorities, many of whom face food and housing insecurity due to systemic discrimination.  These inequities may be compounded for those facing discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, immigration status, gender identity, HIV status, disability, substance use, social class, or religion.

The solution is clear—immediate and permanent federally-funded wrap-around supports for people with confirmed or suspected cases of infectious diseases that require isolation, and people who may have been exposed and are asked to isolate. There is ample evidence that supports are what make isolation work. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we learned that many people want to isolate, and will do so with the right supports.1,2

These supports have been recommended by community organizations and experts across Canada and include:

• Immediate emergency financial supports for people required to isolate because of an infectious disease, without exception, including via waiver of the one-week waiting period for Employment Insurance benefits. This should include special benefits similar to those that supported COVID-19 mitigation, including the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit. This support must extend to anyone required or recommended by public health to isolate because of any infectious disease (including monkeypox infection, tuberculosis, COVID-19), irrespective of proven employment status.
• Funding for community-based, frontline service organizations and other institutions as appropriate to enable the immediate roll-out of wrap-around services. These include:
  – Temporary housing for those who can’t self-isolate in their current situation;
  – Delivery of groceries and other essential items.

Canada is already in the midst of a monkeypox epidemic. The time to act is now. We know what we need to do. Now we are waiting for the federal government to act.

Sincerely,

Dr. Darrell Tan, Infectious Disease Physician, St. Michael’s Hospital; Scientist, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions; Canada Research Chair in HIV Prevention and STI Research

Dr. Sharmistha Mishra, Infectious Disease Physician, St. Michael’s Hospital; Scientist, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions; Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modeling and Program Science

Dr. Adrienne Chan, Infectious Disease Physician, Sunnybrook Health Sciences

Dr. Rupert Kaul, Director, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto and University Health Network

Andrew M. Morris, Physician, Sinai Health and University Health Network

Dr Amila Heendeniya, Physician, University of Manitoba

Dr. Valerie Sales, Infectious Diseases Physician, Markham Stouffville Hospital, Oak Valley Health.

Dr. Carl Boodman, R6, Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology resident, University of Manitoba

Dr. Mariah Hughes, Physician, Infectious Diseases Fellow. University of Toronto

Dr. Adrienne Showler, Physician, Toronto General Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital

Dr. Mara Waters, Resident, St Michael’s Hospital

Dr. Greg German, Medical Microbiologist St. Michael’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Health Centre, Staff Physician Chronic Infection Clinic St Joseph’s Health Centre

Terence Wuerz, Infectious Diseases Physician, St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, MB

Dr. Sharon Walmsley, Infectious Diseases Physician, University Health Network, Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Director Immunodeficiency Clinic, University Health Network, University of Toronto

Dan Werb, Director, Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, St. Michael’s Hospital

Dr. Sean Hillier, Assistant Professor & York Research Chair in Indigenous Health Policy, York University

MIchel Alary, Professor and medical epidemiologist , CHU de Québec -Université Laval Québec

Dr. Andrew Eaton, Assistant Professor, University of Regina

Dr. Jason Brophy, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Dr Justin Penner, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Physician, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Dr. Ann Burchell, Scientist, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto

Dr. Troy Grennan, Physician Lead, HIV/STI Program, and Infectious Diseases Physician, BC Centre for Disease Control

M-J Milloy, PhD, Canopy Growth Professor of Cannabis Science, University of British Columbia; Research Scientist, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use

Dr. Angela Kaida, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Jean-Pierre Routy, McGill University

Jorge Martinez-Cajas, Infectious Disease Physician, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Queen’s University

Mona Loutfy, Physician, Women’s College Hospital & Maple Leaf Medical Clinic

Dr Maxime Billick, Chief Medical Resident, Toronto General Hospital

Dr. Marek Smieja, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton & McMaster University

Dr Joss de Wet, Family physician, Spectrum Health; Clinical Assoc Professor, Dept Family Medicine, UBC

Dr. Charles Hui, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Immunology and Allergy, CHEO, Ottawa

Dr. Sofia Bartlett, Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia

Dr. Brian Conway, Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Bertrand LEBOUCHE, clinician scientist, McGill University Health Centre

Dr. Vanessa Allen, Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Specialist, Sinai Health and University Health Network

Wangari Tharao, Director of Research and Programs, Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC

Dr. Paul MacPherson, Physician, The Ottawa Hospital and University of Ottawa

Dr. Janine McCready, Infectious Diseases Physician, Michael Garron Hospital

Dr. Thomas Dashwood, Infectious Diseases Physician, University of Toronto

Dr. Megan Landes, Physician, Emergency Department, University Health Network

Dr. Brian Hummel, Infectious Diseases Physician (Fellow), Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Dr. Daniel Grace, Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Dr. Jeff Powis, Medical Director IPAC, Michal Garron Hospital

Dr. Sheliza Halani, Resident Physician, Women’s College Hospital

Dr. Matthew P. Muller, Infectious Diseases Physician, St. Michael’s Hospital; Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Unity Health Toronto

Dr. Reena Lovinsky, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Scarborough Health Network, General and Birchmount Hospitals

Dr. Jerome Leis, Infectious Disease, Sunnybrook

Dr. Larissa Matukas, MD, FRCPC, Head, Division of Microbiology, Unity Health Toronto

Dr. Bryan Coburn, Infectious Diseases Physician, University Health Network

Dr. Kevin Schwartz, Infectious Disease Physician, St. Joseph’s Health Centre

Isaac Bogoch, Physician, Toronto General Hospital

Dr. Nisha Thampi, Physician, CHEO

Gregory Walter Rose, MD, FRCPC, Infectious Diseases Physician, Queensway Carleton Hospital

Dr. Nadine Kronfli, Physician, McGill University Health Centre

Zain Chagla, Physician, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Mario Ostrowski , MD, University of Toronto

Dr. Ian Brasg, Medical Director, Infection Prevention & Control, Humber River Hospital

Charlie Tan, Resident Physician, University of Toronto

Dominik Mertz, McMaster University

Dr. Corinna Quan, Infectious Diseases Physician, Windsor Regional Hospital

Dr. Yoav Keynan, Physician, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg

Dr. Todd Hatchette, Physician, Dalhousie University

Coleman Rotstein MD University Health Network, MD Infectious Diseases Physician, University Health Network

Sarah Khan, Physician, McMaster University

Manal Tadros, Medical Microbiologist, The Hospital for Sick Children

Dr. Christopher Graham, Infectious Diseases Physician, Trillium Health Partners

Dr. Gregory Deans, Infectious Diseases Physician, Fraser Health

Dr. Gordon Dow, Physician, The Moncton Hospital

Dr. Theresa Liu, Infectious Disease Physician, Grand River Hospital/St. Mary’s General Hospital, and Sanguen Health Centre

Dr. Dwight Ferris, Infectious diseases consultant physician, Kelowna General Hospital

Yasmeen M Vincent, Medical Microbiologist LifeLabs, ON

Dr. Gary Garber , Professor , Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Director Safe Medical Care Research

Dr. Anne E McCarthy, Infectious Diseases Physician Ottawa Hospital

Dr. Devika Dixit, Pediatric ID Physician, Calgary, Canada

Dr Ruchika Gupta, Resident , Medical Microbiology, University of Toronto

Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, Physician, Shared Health

Yvonne Shevchuk, Pharmacist, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition

Dr. Rob Kozak, Clinical microbiologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, Infectious Diseases, University Health Network

Dr. Geneviève Bergeron, Public health Physician, Montreal Public Health

Dr. DB Gregson FRCPC, University of Calgary

Dr. Dwight Ferris, Kelowna General Hospital

Dr. Shannon Turvey, Physician, Vancouver General Hospital

Dr. Byron M. Berenger, Medical Microbiologist, University of Calgary

1. Cevik M, Baral SD, Crozier A, Cassell JA. Support for self-isolation is critical in covid-19 response. BMJ. 2021 Jan 27;372:n224. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n224. PMID: 33504501.

2. Thompson, Alison, Stall NM, Born KB, et al. Benefits of paid sick leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science Briefs of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. 2021;2(25). https://doi.org/10.47326/ocsat.2021.02.25.1.0.

cc: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
cc: The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
cc: The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and
      Disability Inclusion
cc: The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
cc: The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Labour
cc: The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
cc: The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors
cc: Mr. Michael Barrett, MP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
cc: Mr. Randall Garrison, MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke
cc: Mr. Luc Thériault, MP for Montcalm

From CTV News

Researchers at the University of Alberta are celebrating a major advancement in the detection of syphilis, one of the most contagious sexually transmitted infections.

Traditional testing takes seven to 10 days but the new finger-prick blood test takes 15 minutes. It’s the first of its kind in Canada.

“What this test allows us to do is to do the test and offer treatment at the same visit. So that’s very exciting and it means we don’t lose people to a follow up appointment,” explained principal investigator Ameeta Singh.