Zoonosis

Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 : Zoonotic Diseases, Drinking Water and Gastroenteritis in Nunavik: a Brief Portrait

In Nunavik, common practices such as the consumption of untreated water and raw game may promote exposure to pathogenic agents responsible for zoonoses, infections that may be transmitted from animals to humans, as well as for food-borne and water-borne infections. As part of the 2004 Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, information was gathered to depict the supply of drinking water and to determine the prevalence of certain infections among the Inuit population, including gastroenteritis.

The results reveal that the region and socioeconomic characteristics (age, education and revenue) of the main respondents (n = 521) were associated with the supply of drinking water in households (source of drinking water, type of treatment used in the house and frequency of cleaning the domestic reservoir). Approximately one third of households draw their main water from a natural source and this practice is more common among respondents aged 50 and over, those with a lower level of education an…

Preliminary Notice Concerning the Selection of an Adulticide for the Control of Mosquitoes to Prevent the Transmission of West Nile Virus in Quebec and Elsewhere in Canada

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…