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How to protect your health as smoke travels across Canada
As wildfires rage in British Columbia and Alberta, other parts of the country also felt the effects this week, with massive clouds of smoke spreading across thousands of kilometres.
There was a ribbon of smoke on Tuesday extending from Alberta up over the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, connecting through the Great Lakes and all the way off the coast of Newfoundland, according to Global News Chief Meteorologist Anthony Farnell.
The smoke was so thick in some parts of Ontario that it nearly blocked out the sun, Farnell added.
These wildfires emit a variety of harmful pollutants into the air, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which can pose serious health risks to people both in the short and long term.
Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency physician in the Northwest Territories who is also a wildfire and health researcher, said although the literature is still evolving, researchers are finding that exposure to wildfire smoke is linked to an increased risk of respiratory infections, asthma, heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations.
For example, Howard, who lives and works in Yellowknife, published a study in 2021 in BMJ Open and found that wildfires increased asthma- and pneumonia-related emergency room visits, as well as COPD hospitalizations.
Read more about the Alberta and B.C. wildfires and how they can impact your health.
Lowering the age for breast cancer screening?
A U.S. health task force is now saying women should start getting screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40, instead of waiting until they’re 50.
This shift in screening protocol is expected to save thousands of lives per year, and many experts in Canada believe that our country should follow suit.
According to Dr. Jean Seely, the head of breast imaging at the Ottawa Hospital, this new recommendation is not a new idea for Canada, as she has been advocating for earlier screening for more than a decade.
“The importance of women getting breast cancer screening in their 40s cannot be overstated,” she said.
The number of women who are getting breast cancer in their 40s is increasing, which is one of the reasons the U.S. task force changes its guidelines, Seely added.
In Canada, regular screening mammography is only recommended for patients between the ages of 50 and 74; but women in their 40s could be able to have a screening if they talk to their doctors.
Unfortunately, the requirement for a doctor’s referral for women of this age group to undergo a mammogram can present challenges, Seely said. Some physicians may be reluctant to provide the referral, or patients may not have access to a family doctor.
That’s why she, and others, are advocating to have all women who are 40 or older be able to self-refer to a screening program.
Find out more about why Canada’s guidelines do not recommend screening at age 40.
— THE TOPIC —
WHO says mpox is no longer a global health emergency
— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is no longer considered a global health emergency.
The cases of the virus reached their highest numbers in July and August of 2022, but have been steadily declining since then, the WHO said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference that there have been almost 90 per cent fewer cases in the last three months than in the three months prior. In total, more than 87,000 cases and 140 deaths have been reported from 111 countries, he said.
“We now see steady progress in controlling the outbreak based on the lessons of HIV and working closely with the most affected communities,” Tedros said. “I’m pleased to declare that the mpox is no longer a global health emergency.”
Mpox was first declared a global health emergency in July 2022. The virus causes symptoms including a rash, fever, headache, muscle pain and swollen lymph nodes. The skin lesions can last up to a month and the disease is spread via close physical contact with an infected patient or with their clothing or bedsheets. Most people don’t need medical treatment to recover.
WHO warned, though, that the work to fight the virus is not over, as it continues to pose “significant health challenges.”
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