Lyme disease concerns grow

With Lyme disease becoming more prevalent in Canada, the chorus of infectious disease specialists urging the need for a human vaccine is growing louder.

The latest available national Lyme disease data shows 2,544 reported cases in Canada last year. A decade ago in 2013, there were only 632.

The disease has been in the country since the 1980s but warmer winters over the last few decades have allowed ticks, which can carry the bacteria that causes Lyme, to flourish in ways they didn’t before, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says.

If left undiagnosed or not treated early, the bacteria can spread deep into different parts of the body, linger for years, and can lead to a range of debilitating symptoms that affect the nervous system, heart and joints.

The potentially extreme repercussions of Lyme disease were recently highlighted when a 30-year-old Quebec woman opted for doctor-assisted death last month after years of battling the illness.

Despite the growing burden of Lyme disease, current preventive measures are limited to using tick-repellent spray, antibiotics and performing tick checks after spending time outdoors.

“I think it’s really important that it be a national priority to have a vaccine,” Toronto ER doctor Raghu Venugopal told Global News.

The only available human vaccine, LYMErix, was withdrawn from the U.S. and Canadian markets in 2002 due to low sales and what experts have called “negative publicity.”

But now, over 20 years later, there are clinical trials ongoing for a new one.

Read more here about the growing threat of Lyme disease in Canada and where vaccine progress stands.

UBC develops oral insulin drops for diabetes

University of British Columbia researchers and scientists have created a new method that could drastically change how diabetes patients receive insulin.

Researchers at UBC’s Li Lab announced this week that they have developed oral insulin drops that are placed under the tongue to be absorbed into the body, which could replace the need for insulin injections.

“My lab has been working on needle-free insulin alternatives these past three years,” said professor Shyh-Dar Li of UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“We tried nasal sprays before landing on oral drops, which are easy and convenient. Hopefully, the oral drops open up a new possibility for diabetes patients, making it easier to take their medications and regulate their blood glucose to maintain their health in the long run.”

The drops contain a mixture of insulin and a unique cell-penetrating peptide developed by Li and colleagues.

While the drops still need to go through human clinical trials, Li told Global News they hope to launch the product in five years.

Read more about the development of the drops and how they work here.

— THE TOPIC —

Another avian flu strain makes it way to humans

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

The World Health Organization reported the first laboratory-confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H5N2) this week in a person who died.

On May 23, Mexican health officials said the H5N2 bird flu strain was detected in a 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico, who had been hospitalized in Mexico City.

“This is the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A (H5N2) virus reported globally and the first avian H5 virus infection in a person reported in Mexico,” the WHO said in a statement Wednesday.

The avian influenza A (H5N2) had only previously been reported in birds.

Although the source of exposure to the virus in this case was unknown as of Friday, A (H5N2) viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico, the WHO said.

The UN agency noted that the person had multiple underlying medical conditions, and that their relatives reported that the person had been bedridden for three weeks for other reasons, prior to the onset of acute symptoms.

And on Friday, Mexico’s health ministry said the person died due to chronic diseases and not the virus.

“The cause of death is often hard to ascertain in cases when a patient has comorbidities (other illnesses),” the WHO told Global News in a statement Friday.

Based on available information, the WHO said it assessed the current risk to the general population posed by this virus as low.