Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A suspected anthrax outbreak at Wood Buffalo National Park has been confirmed. Samples sent to a lab early last week came back positive on Thursday said Parks Canada in a news release the same day, confirming the presence of anthrax in at least one dead bison at the park. Bison will usually contract the disease from contaminated soil while wallowing in dust baths. Spores develop in hotter temperatures and fluctuating water levels. Cooler temperatures will kill the spores and slow the outbreak.
Western Quebec's health authority is investigating six cases of legionellosis that were recently reported in the region. So far, health officials have been unable to identify the source of the contamination, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO) said in a Friday news release. Legionellosis is the broad term for a number of diseases, including legionnaires' disease, caused by the water-borne legionella bacteria.
A COVID-19 outbreak in a First Nation in rural Alberta is exposing social inequities that make the spread of the virus quick, and recovery slow, according to doctors and community leaders. Sewepagaham said there are many reasons the virus is spreading quickly, including a lack of health-care staff, boil water advisories and overcrowding of homes. Sewepagaham said the community is constantly on and off boil water advisories, making it difficult for people to stay healthy.
An outbreak of legionnaires' disease is responsible for the deaths of two people in east-end Montreal, according to public health officials. At a news conference Wednesday, officials said they have identified 10 cases of the disease since mid-June, including the deaths of two people over the age of 65. The area of concern is bordered by Pie-IX Boulevard to the west, Highway 25 to the east, Highway 40 to the north and the Saint-Lawrence River to the south.
Saskatoon officials say a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared among a group of water and sewer maintenance crews. The city says in a news release that it recently received confirmation from the Saskatchewan Health Authority about the outbreak in a city work group at a facility at 88 King St. It says the facility is only accessible by employees. The release says the city does not expect that there will be an impact to operations.
