1.3 million Montrealers face boil water advisory

Residents should expect advisory to last a minimum of 24 hours

Most Montrealers are being told they must boil their water before drinking it, a precaution after sediment was found in the water following renovations to a city reservoir.

Officials will be testing the water to make sure there is no dangerous bacteria in the sediment.

City officials have issued a boil water advisory covering all areas east of, and including, LaSalle.

So far, the West Island, Lachine (except for Ville St-Pierre) and parts of Ahuntsic-Cartierville north of the Metropolitan Expressway are the only areas exempt from the boil water advisory.

The head of Montreal’s water service, Chantal Morissette, said the advisory is a precautionary measure.

She said the decision comes after test results at the Atwater filtration plant showed water was not up to standard.

Sediment found in water reservoir

According to authorities, workers had lowered the water in the Atwater reservoir for renovations. When the level was raised again, sediment was discovered in the water.

There have been reports of discoloured, brownish water coming from the taps in several boroughs across the city.

(From CBC News)

Posted 1 day ago

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public health, environmental health, boil water advisory, Montreal, Canada,

Canadians use average of $220,000 in public health care over lifetime

Canadians consume, on average, just over $220,000 in publicly funded health-care services over a lifetime, newly published data show.

Spending is fairly consistent across income groups, despite significant differences in the health status of rich and poor, according to the analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

People in the lowest-income group have $237,500 in lifetime health costs, compared with $206,000 for the highest-income group. The wealthy live an average of five years longer than the poor. But the wealthy also tend to be healthier, so their lifetime cost to the health-care system tends to be less.

(From The Globe and Mail, Toronto)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/canadians-use-average-of-220000-in-public-health-care-over-lifetime/article11913571/

Posted 4 days ago

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public health, health care, Canada, Universal access to health care,

goodideapublichealth:

Make Your Health Last

The Canadian Stroke and Heart Foundation draws attention how a healthy lifestyle can affect our quality-of-life on the long term. The split screen makes two different scenarios visible how last 10 years might look like.

Reblogged 2 weeks ago from goodideapublichealth

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public health, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, Canada,

Healthy Ottawa: Salmonella Outbreak & Enhanced Food Handler Training

ottawahealth:

In March 2012, OPH investigated a food borne illness outbreak of salmonellosis that included 85 cases, and caused 26 emergency room visits and six hospitalizations. In collaborating with other agencies, OPH controlled, contained, investigated and managed the outbreak in order to avert a…

Reblogged 3 weeks ago from ottawahealth

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public health, salmonella, outbreaks, foodborne illnesses, Canada, Ottawa,

ottawahealth:

Immunization Awareness Week 2013 is coming to an end. To see the difference you make in saying yes to being protected, watch this.

Reblogged 3 weeks ago from ottawahealth

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public health, global health, immunization awareness week, Canada, Ottawa,

Prevent the Spread

ottawahealth:

In Canada, babies and young children are routinely immunized with selected vaccines when they are 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 18 months. These early vaccines protect against five different diseases, including pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough.

Pertussis is a highly contagious infection that affects the respiratory system and spreads easily in the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, and talks. Symptoms are initially mild (similar to the common cold) but as the weeks progress, the mild cough may turn into a severe, violent cough, lasting weeks to months. Babies and young children are at the greatest risk of serious complications, such as breathing difficulties, choking spells, vomiting, weight loss, pneumonia, brain damage and in rare cases, death. Older children and adults may experience milder symptoms but nevertheless, can still spread the infection to others. Every year in Canada, whooping cough kills 1 to 3 infants who did not receive or follow the proper vaccination schedule.

Read More

Reblogged 1 month ago from ottawahealth

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public health, vaccine-preventable diseases, pertussis, whooping cough, Canada, Ottawa,

ottawahealth:

World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is March 24- an opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of illness caused by tuberculosis (TB) and to recognize the progress that has been made in reducing the number of cases and deaths worldwide. 2013 is the second year of the international initiative entitled Stop TB In My Lifetime.

In 2012, 40 cases of tuberculosis were reported in Ottawa, of which 19 were tuberculosis of the lung (which is often contagious). There are 9 million new cases of TB in the world each year; 1,600 in Canada alone.

To recognize World TB Day, Public Health Nurses from the Communicable Disease Control Program will be taking the Together We Can Stop Tuberculosis display to a local high school on March 21 to promote TB awareness.

TB is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that are spread from person to person through the air. It usually affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys or the spine.

Tuberculosis is preventable! Tuberculosis is treatable! Tuberculosis is curable!

TB bacteria are released into the air when a person infected with TB of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, talks or sings. These bacteria can stay in the air for several hours, depending on the environment. A person who breathes in the air containing these bacteria can become infected.

For more information on World TB Day 2013, please visit StopTB.org

Reblogged 1 month ago from ottawahealth

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public health, global health, TB, World TB Day, Canada, Ottawa, Tuberculosis,

From Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Posted 2 months ago

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public health, smoking, PSA, Canada, Ontario,

goodideapublichealth:

Stop the Denial - If you fart socially you are a farter and if you smoke socially you are a smoker

… is the key message of the amusing PSA by Canada’s Ministry of Health.

Reblogged 2 months ago from goodideapublichealth

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public health, smoking, Canada,