Infectious disease

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is recognized as one of the most common – if not the most common – sexually transmitted infections. The association between HPV and cervical cancer has also been recognized, while more recently it has been associated with some other types of cancer, primarily those in the genital region.

Our understanding of HPV has advanced considerably in the past decade. In fact, we now speak of human papillomavirus infections since there are roughly 100 viruses of varying pathogenecity. New technologies used for detection are being developed with increasing speed, new treatments are available and research on therapeutic or preventive vaccines continues to show promise.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that HPV infections are a major public health problem.

Recognizing the magnitude of a public health problem is the first step in prevention. However, it is important to fully understand the various components of this problem in order to ide…

In the event that West Nile virus (WNV) enters Canada, the control of the principal vector would be one of the key components of the efforts to limit the spread of this virus. At the present time, it appears that mosquitoes are the primary vector of WNV to humans and other animals.

The use of insecticides for this purpose is not without certain human health risks. For that reason, it is critical to select the product that offers the highest level of safety, both for the public and for workers who apply the treatments.

To determine what adulticide offers the highest level of safety, we evaluate the principal toxicity indices of the potential products identified for this type of work namely malathion, resmethrin, permethrin, propoxur and dichlorvos.

Given the lead time required to draft this notice, we focussed primarily on the most recent studies and those that most effectively met the new toxicity assessment requirements.

In order to take account of t…