Category: Health Fitness

A remote First Nation in eastern Manitoba has a new emergency response vehicle to move people in need of medical treatment. People in Poplar River First Nation have previously been transported in the beds of pickup trucks or the backs of SUVs or vans. “It was uncomfortable for the patients in our community,” said Poplar […]

The Dose21:45What do I need to know about HPV and the HPV vaccine? Gilles Charette first noticed something was going on with his body when he found an anal wart during a shower.  Charette confirmed with a nurse practitioner that he had acquired a human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and quickly received topical ointment for treatment.  […]

A UCP cabinet minister is urging the premier to remove Health Minister Adriana LaGrange from her post while investigations continue into serious allegations a fired Alberta Health Services CEO has made about major health contracts, CBC News has learned. Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie sent a memo Thursday to his cabinet colleagues urging quick action, and […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. Whether it’s kosher, Himalayan pink or sea salt, Canadians have a wide range of choices when it comes to salts. […]

Health-care workers in Nunavut say changes to a federal funding program for Inuit children are forcing some pregnant women to make a tough choice: have a safe birth or ensure the kids they already have are properly cared for. The Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI) was launched in 2019 to ensure Inuit kids have access […]

The United States’ pause on foreign aid contributions is having a serious impact on global health, hitting programs fighting polio, HIV and other threats, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday. Tedros urged the U.S. to consider resuming aid funding until solutions can be found. “There are actions that the U.S. government is taking … which we’re concerned are having a […]

Two years ago, on a late November morning, Sylvie Hudon woke up shaking like a leaf. The 66-year-old, who is paralyzed from the waist down, was trembling from what she says were the early signs of sepsis. She hadn’t seen it coming. Just the day before, nurses visiting her Quebec City home had told her she had […]

The call to Angela Rasmussen came out of the blue and posed a troubling question. Had she heard the rumour that key data sets would be removed from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website the next day? It’s something Rasmussen had thought could never happen. “It had never really been thought of before […]

The former CEO of Alberta Health Services has filed a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit against AHS and the province. Athana Mentzelopoulos claims she was fired because she’d launched an investigation and forensic audit into various contracts and was reassessing deals she had concluded were overpriced with private surgical companies she said had links to government […]

The Halifax Infirmary will be getting a walk-thru metal detector installed this week after recent violent incidents at the hospital raised questions about its security measures. Last month, three health-care workers were attacked in the emergency department; two of them were stabbed. “With increased violence that we’re experiencing, we are taking these extra measures to make sure […]

An acclaimed musician who lives in Halifax is opening up about her struggles in hopes of painting an honest picture of what it’s like to work in the music industry, From the outside, Meaghan Smith has had an enviable career. She’s toured the country, had her songs appear in countless television series and films, including […]

Neskantaga First Nation in northwestern Ontario has been under a boil-water advisory for over 30 years — the longest in effect in Canada — and now leaders of the remote Ojibway community are ramping up efforts to get the federal government to pay for a new water treatment plant. “It’s been traumatic for a lot of my people. We […]

A dairy worker in Nevada who was infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has been spreading in U.S. herds since last year has recovered, federal health officials said Monday. The illness was considered mild. The person’s main symptom was eye redness and irritation, similar to most bird […]

A lawyer representing Horizon Health Network and two of its nurses says a lawsuit filed against them by the family of a man who died waiting for care at the Fredericton hospital’s emergency department in 2022 should be dismissed with costs. Susan Mesheau of Fredericton, executor of the estate of her brother Darrell Mesheau, is suing Horizon, registered […]

A huge swath of northern Ontario between Timmins and Thunder Bay has almost no one trained in obstetrics, forcing women to relocate for the final weeks of pregnancy. CBC’s Nick Purdon went there to find out what it’s like to navigate the ‘maternity ward desert.’

Brent Devloo says his iPad is the reason he was able to graduate high school after he suddenly became blind in the 11th grade.  Now, the Langley resident is fundraising to give iPads to other visually impaired youth.  Devloo was 16 when he lost his vision one day in history class in 2011. He was […]

Alberta’s auditor general has launched an investigation into procurement and contracting processes within the province’s health authority to address “concerns or allegations related to contracting and potential conflicts of interest.” In a statement Thursday, Auditor General Doug Wylie said his probe within the department of health and Alberta Health Services is ongoing. News of the investigation […]

A New Hampshire man fought for the chance at a pig kidney transplant, spending months getting into good enough shape to be part of a small pilot study of a highly experimental treatment. His effort paid off: Tim Andrews, 66, is only the second person known to be living with a pig kidney. Andrews is […]

The U.S. winter virus season is in full force, and by one measure is the most intense in 15 years. One indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. Last week, that number was clearly higher than the peak of any winter flu season since 2009-2010, according to […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. With football fans expected to wager billions of dollars on this year’s Super Bowl, experts are urging governments to reduce […]

When Trisha Holland’s father applied for a medically-assisted death, she had to decide what — and how much — to share with her three children. Her father, Ronald Watt, had been diagnosed with cancer and chose medical assistance in dying (MAID) after learning his illness was terminal. At the time, Holland’s sons were 10, 13 and […]

U.S. dairy cattle tested positive for a strain of bird flu that previously had not been seen in cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday, ramping up concerns about the persistent spread of the virus. The H5N1 virus has reduced milk output in cattle, pushed up egg prices by wiping out millions of […]

An Opposition critic is calling for an inquiry into B.C.’s safer supply drug program after it emerged that the province is investigating the diversion of opioids prescribed by doctors and pharmacists. A recent B.C. Ministry of Health document says a “significant portion” of prescribed opioids is being diverted and that prescribed alternatives are being trafficked provincially, nationally […]

Twenty years ago, Susan O’Sullivan was working full-time with the Ministry of Forests and volunteering as a singer at her local art centre when her voice began to crack.  “There was some crack that started happening in my voice randomly, and I couldn’t understand what it was . . . you sort of put it […]

The province sent out a notification on Tuesday warning the public of five confirmed cases of measles in southern Manitoba that are connected to an outbreak in Ontario.  The cases involve five people living in the same household who recently travelled to Ontario, and have since been told to isolate themselves at home, a provincial […]

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday signed a bill to shield the identities of doctors who prescribe abortion medications, days after a physician in the state was charged with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor in Louisiana.  The new law, which took effect immediately, allows doctors to request for their names to be […]

This is the first in a two-part series looking at what it takes to deliver emergency care in the central Manitoulin region in Ontario. The family doctor shortage in northeastern Ontario has caused some emergency rooms to close, but what may be less well known to the public is how many others are frequently on the […]

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is facing its greatest threat since its inception over 60 years ago, as President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk spent the weekend impugning the agency that has contributed to Washington being the most critical source of foreign assistance around the world. USAID staffers at the […]

If you’re taking a flight or attending a conference, chances are you’ll get meat on your tray unless you request a vegetarian meal. Photos of meaty steaks and burgers feature prominently on menus and flyers. Even daycares and hospitals typically serve meat-heavy menus. Public health recommendations such as Canada Food’s Guide and research show that […]

The Dose26:02How can I spot and deal with health and science misinformation? A new survey from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) shows that health misinformation is on the rise, as more Canadians turn to social media for their news over traditional media organizations.  According to the CMA’s annual health and media tracking survey, 62 per […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. A patient sounds slightly short of breath with a subtle decline in their strength. The diagnosis? It could literally be […]

More than 100 years after his death, Anderson Ruffin Abbott’s visit to the White House and his relationship with President Abraham Lincoln continue to fascinate people. Abbott, a man of notable firsts, is included in Jill L. Newmark’s book Without Concealment, Without Compromise: The Courageous Lives of Black Civil War Surgeons. In addition to being the first Black Canadian […]

A flock of B.C. ostriches ordered killed after avian flu was detected on their farm have been granted a stay of execution by a Federal Court judge. In a ruling shared Friday afternoon, Justice Michael Battista said that the Feb. 1 deadline for the birds to be killed should be suspended until after a hearing on the original […]

Canada’s healthcare system increasingly relies on internationally trained professionals but many immigrants complain that becoming licensed to practice here takes months, if not years, even as different levels of government recognize the need to accelerate the accreditation process.  Some new arrivals say they’re falling through the cracks. One of them is Palwasha Anwari, a doctor who — despite her […]

Politics Health Minister Mark Holland says he’s looking forward to signing more pharmacare deals with provinces and territories “in the coming days” — and opposition parties should rethink their plans to bring down the government this spring to allow that to happen. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he plans to vote down government in late […]

A teenager and the man he saved from a tent engulfed in flames are forming an unlikely friendship. Zeke Fox, 17, dragged Shawn Goodwin to safety on the night of Jan. 5 as a fire destroyed the 53-year-old’s encampment at Bayfront Park in Hamilton.  Since then, Fox has visited Goodwin several times in Hamilton General Hospital’s burn […]

Three employees at the Halifax Infirmary hospital were injured by a patient Wednesday, including two who were stabbed, according to sources. Halifax Regional Police were called to the hospital, the region’s largest, around 1 p.m. for a weapons complaint. Police took the patient into custody. An email to staff from Nova Scotia Health CEO Karen […]

The confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary, are set before the Senate finance committee on Wednesday morning and the same chamber’s health, education, labour and pension committee on Thursday. If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7-trillion US agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of […]

On Jan. 28, 2020, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry held a news conference announcing B.C.’s first confirmed case of COVID-19, setting into motion what would be months of public health restrictions and uncertainty amid the world’s worst pandemic in over a century. Five years later, Henry is reflecting on the “collective trauma” that people […]

People diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are living shorter lives than they should, say the authors of a new British study, who stress that much of the known link between the disorder and premature death is closely related to the availability of education and support services. Psychiatrists say it’s long been known that people diagnosed […]

In early 2020, Lili Wu was already “armed to the teeth” whenever she ventured to public places near her home in Port Coquitlam, B.C. — face mask, sanitizer, protective eyewear and gloves. It was more than a month before the World Health Organization’s March declaration of a global pandemic that introduced most other Canadians to […]

The jury in the Florence Girard coroner’s inquest has returned a unanimous verdict, classifying the death of the 54-year-old woman with Down syndrome as homicide caused by starvation. Homicide is a neutral term for human-caused death that does not imply criminality or intent. The five-person jury also submitted 13 recommendations, including better pay for front-line caregivers, unannounced visits to homes where […]

Nicotine control groups that have waited years for a nationwide ban on vaping flavours say they’ve now been given indications it won’t happen — despite the minister responsible vowing last fall that the restrictions were coming “soon.” Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said she and representatives from a number of anti-smoking organizations met […]

This First Person column is by Julianna Maggrah, a Cree filmmaker and storyteller based in Prince Albert, Sask. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.  I used to think I was broken. Now, after learning about Indigenous views of autism, I consider myself gifted. I am Cree. My people have long had a word […]

Most days, Lisa Cloutier takes her preschool class outside: exploring the forest nearby or running around the east Toronto school where their daycare is located. “Kids naturally are curious. They’re going to try to climb the bleachers and jump off the top,” said the longtime early childhood educator (ECE), who recalls scrambling over rocks and […]

An Ontario court has thrown out a Charter challenge of a long-term care law that allows hospitals to move people into homes they didn’t choose, or charge them $400 a day if they want to go elsewhere. The case — brought forward by the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) and the Ontario Health Coalition — was heard in the Superior Court […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. Those working at the World Health Organization had been expecting the worst — but Donald Trump’s executive order still […]

Addressing Ontario’s growing doctor shortage must be a key part of an imminent provincial election, opposition parties say, resisting Premier Doug Ford’s push to frame the vote primarily as a fight against U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariff threats. The Ontario Liberals, New Democrats and Greens all say images coming out of Walkerton, Ont., last week, […]

The union representing workers with the Public Health Agency of Canada says the federal government is not renewing the contracts of over 800 employees, including at least 245 at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.  Shimen Fayad, national president of the Union of Health and Environment Workers, told Radio-Canada in an email the health agency initially said job reductions would […]

Amy Silva has always recognized the importance of being part of a network of doulas who understand the intricacies of supporting clients during childbirth. The London, Ont., doula’s need for community was reaffirmed last year when she was in court as one of the 17 victims of Kaitlyn Braun, the Brantford woman who pleaded guilty to faking pregnancies and fraudulently receiving the […]

British Columbia’s attorney general says the Supreme Court of Canada has certified the province’s class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Niki Sharma says B.C. can now proceed as a representative plaintiff on behalf of other Canadian governments with the litigation aimed at recovering the costs of treating opioid-related diseases allegedly caused by the industry’s conduct. […]

For the past five weeks, Toronto night nurse Keren Elumir has been handing out clean underwear and electrolyte packets at a safe consumption and overdose prevention site in Moss Park. She’s been seeing more and more people with the telltale signs of a Shigella infection, also known as shigellosis: diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever. Toronto […]

Germany said Tuesday it will try to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from pulling out from the World Health Organization as many global health experts fear the move could substantially weaken global health security and set back progress in fighting infectious diseases like AIDS and malaria. “The new U.S. president’s announcement to withdraw from the World […]

Ozempic was first approved to treat diabetes in Canada seven years ago. Now the largest study of its kind suggests it and other medications like it have a host of other potential health benefits beyond obesity, but could also bring increased risk of other conditions. The class of medications called GLP-1 agonists mimic the actions of […]

The Public Health Agency of Canada said nearly 1,600 people may have been infected with salmonella linked to the recall of mini pastries. The federal agency’s director of outbreak management said Monday that calculation is based on the agency’s estimation that for every reported case, there’s another 26.1 in the community. “We would estimate that 1,592 people […]

This First Person column is written by Emily Ranft, who lives in Orillia, Ont. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.  It was the day before my scheduled abortion.  My partner was in jail and I was gardening at the community church, trying to do something to move through time […]

The Public Health Agency of Canada says 61 cases of salmonella across the country, including 17 that have required hospitalization, have been linked to recalled mini pastries. The agency says the Sweet Cream brand treat has been distributed at bakeries, hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and retirement residences, as well as served at catered events. A statement says 33 […]

When Kate Gammon and her family fled their Santa Monica, Calif., home during the recent wildfires, she wasn’t sure what they would find when they returned.  Though they weren’t under an evacuation order, Gammon, who has asthma, told CBC News that the air quality was quickly worsening and the fires were volatile, so they left on Jan. 8, […]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall due to a possible salmonella contamination of certain brands of eggs in multiple provinces. The agency says the recall covers Compliments, Foremost, Golden Valley Eggs, IGA, no name and Western Family eggs. The expiry dates for recalled eggs are Feb. 16, Feb. 22 and March 1. […]

In April 2017, Glenn Hussey went to The Ottawa Hospital for a regular checkup to monitor his smouldering multiple myeloma — a precursor to the rare blood plasma cancer multiple myeloma. He’d been going every few months for more than a decade. But this time, he remembers his doctor saying: “Everything has changed.” Hussey began cancer treatment that September. There is currently no […]

Many residents of Los Angeles are now waiting to return to what’s left of their homes. But even for those whose houses were spared, health concerns around smoke and ash will linger.

This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it. Ismelda Ramirez says she never expected to swap her white doctor’s coat for a McDonald’s uniform. Despite training as a family doctor in the Dominican Republic, she ended up working at the […]

Announcements of job cuts in the health network have multiplied in recent weeks as Quebec tries to eliminate a $1.5 billion deficit in the public health-care system. According to the most recent data from the Health Ministry, the number of employees in the network dropped to 348,353 in mid-December 2024 — a decrease of 1,045 […]

The caregiver convicted for her part in the starvation death of Florence Girard says she wouldn’t have gone into home care had she known how little support would be given to her. Astrid Dahl also criticized the home-care organization she worked for when Girard, who had Down syndrome, starved to death in her care in 2018, […]

They started to arrive, and the line began to form, as early as 2 a.m. Despite a steady snowfall and bone-chilling cold, they came to stand outside and wait their turn, hours before the doors opened at 10 a.m.  This wasn’t a queue to purchase Taylor Swift concert tickets at a kiosk in downtown Toronto. This line was […]

Signs at the new Fort St. James hospital, about 160 kilometres northwest of Prince George, welcome visitors in both English and Dakelh. Inside, there is a spiritual gathering space with special ventilation built in to allow for smudging — a cultural ceremony involving burning items such as sweetgrass, spruce bows and tobacco. These touches bring pride […]

Major medical groups are proposing a major change to how doctors diagnose obesity. In Tuesday’s issue of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 58 international experts across a range of medical specialties and people with lived experience released a report proposing a new definition and diagnostic criteria for clinical obesity. They say the current medical approaches to diagnose […]

Los Angeles is already infamous for poor air quality. But the fires scorching the area now are sending up plumes of black smoke that pose threats to human health beyond that of standard wildfires. Wildfire smoke can linger for weeks and travel across a continent. But what sets the L.A. fires apart, researchers say, is the toxic […]

There are now 234 cases of students with the stomach flu at the University of Guelph in southern Ontario, and at least one of those is a lab-confirmed case of norovirus. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health confirmed the number of cases Monday afternoon. The regional health unit said unless there was a significant increase, it would no longer be […]

Advocates with sight loss and people in the medical field in Halifax have been working on a number of initiatives to improve the delivery of health care for people who are blind or partially sighted.  Dalhousie University medical student Tyler Herod, who has helped lead some of the efforts, said focus groups have identified a number of barriers those patients can encounter. For […]

White Coat Black Art26:30Virtual doctors for real ERs Dr. Michael Ertel starts his emergency department shift at about 8 p.m., after making himself a cup of coffee and saying goodnight to his golden retriever, Norman. But he’s not going to the hospital. “Time to head down into the bunker,” he said. The “bunker” is the […]

The Current27:00How to help a loved one drink less It’s a new year, and some Canadians are embarking on Dry January, following a holiday season replete with toasts and tipples. But author and journalist Maureen Palmer and her partner Mike Pond believe the ways we think about problem drinking could do more harm than good. For example, […]

Ayah Fahmy recalls parking in a mostly empty lot at the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Lower Sackville and not understanding why she had to pay a fee. “It was an emergency situation, so I needed to be at the hospital,” she said. On Thursday, Fahmy took the bus to the Victoria General Hospital in […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. Headlines warning people to throw out their black plastic kitchen utensils live on, as do social media posts warning of […]

The Saskatchewan government has agreed to a $40 million deal with Ottawa to improve access to medication for rare diseases. The federal government is also looking for the province’s participation in a national plan to improve screening and diagnostics for rare diseases. Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill spoke alongside his federal counterpart at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital […]

Some Canadians are celebrating a major autism organization’s decision to pull out of the country, highlighting a shift in the way people think about autism.  Autism Speaks quietly announced last month that it will end its Canadian operations on Jan. 31. “The intentional decision to conclude was not taken lightly and has been weighed against responsible stewardship […]

It was May 2020. COVID-19 was new to the world, and people were isolating at home — many alone — to curb the spread of this new virus.  At the same time, B.C.’s illicit drug supply was becoming increasingly toxic. That’s when Stephanie Harrington learned her 39-year-old brother Ian had died after using toxic drugs.  […]

Rising cases of common respiratory illnesses in China and elsewhere around the Northern Hemisphere are within the range expected for winter, with no unusual outbreaks reported, the World Health Organization said. Reports of a surge of cases in China of human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a common respiratory infection, have drawn headlines worldwide, with reports of overwhelmed […]

The University of Guelph has identified a cluster of students living in residence who are experiencing the abdominal illness gastroenteritis. The first cases were reported Monday. As of Wednesday afternoon, about 60 people have self-identified as being sick with the virus, the university told CBC News in an email. According to Health Ontario, viral gastroenteritis […]

WARNING: This article references sexual assault and suicidal ideation, and may affect those who have experienced​ them or know someone affected by them. A few months after Kaitlyn Braun was sentenced to house arrest for faking pregnancies  and fraudulently receiving the services of numerous doulas, she picked up the phone and did it again — twice. […]

A day after CBC revealed that a self-styled Vancouver Island “childbirth activist” was under police investigation, a manslaughter charge has been sworn against Gloria Lemay in relation to the death of a newborn last January. The charge against the 77-year-old comes almost one year to the day after the alleged victim died on Jan. 6, 2024 — […]

Health The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed new guidance for devices used to monitor blood oxygen levels to improve their accuracy and performance across a range of skin tones. FDA says recommendations address accuracy concerns of medical devices affected by factors like skin tone Thomson Reuters · Posted: Jan 06, 2025 1:35 PM EST […]

The Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the country’s first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle. Nearly 70 people in the U.S. have contracted bird flu since April, according to the […]

Good news for Ontario’s strained health-care system: a new medical school is set to open in the GTA this year. Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is poised to open its new medical school in Brampton, Ont., in September. The first class will include 94 undergraduates and 105 postgraduates (also known as residents). Every student will be Canadian, […]

New Transport Canada regulations allow for the skies to open up for more complex drone operations that could be especially beneficial to remote communities.

It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback

Halton Healthcare and Conservation Halton announced in early December they were partnering with a B.C.-based foundation to offer nature prescriptions to patients for free access to the local conservation areas. They became the latest addition to the program, which has been available in other parts of Canada since 2020.  But how does it work? Any licensed health-care professional in […]

Alcoholic drinks should carry a label warning consumers about their cancer risks, the U.S. surgeon general said in an advisory on Friday, noting that their consumption increases the risk of developing breast, colon, liver and other cancers. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so […]

A letter sent to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine signed by Canadian health officials says the British Columbia teenager who tested positive for avian flu has been taken off supplemental oxygen and is no longer infectious.  The letter, which was published Tuesday and provides a summary and timeline of the case, was […]

Steve Guimond may not have grown up in Quebec City, but 10 years after his move from Montreal, he knows his routes around the city much like a local taxi driver. Cranking up the heat in the car he uses as his office on a late November morning, Guimond rolls out to his second pickup […]

​It’s the first week of January and the word “detox” is probably trending again. It has, like clockwork, for the past five years. From juices and supplements to foot baths and diet regimens, detox products become more popular this time of year. But what do these treatments and programs actually do — and do you […]

For Katelynn Hawes and Quentin Brunelle, it should have been their baby’s first Christmas celebration at home with her big brother.  Instead, the family has spent much of the holidays in hospitals as their nearly three-month-old daughter Evalynn battles a case of bacterial meningitis — one they say should have been caught by medical professionals […]

What a year 2024 was for parents. What a … time. Sure, there were some positive moments in the world of parenting news that had us cheering. Bluey made us weep happy tears. The U.S. surgeon general’s warning about parental stress helped many of us feel less alone. Roblox added more parental controls. Hooray! But if you are currently in […]

On Dec. 31, 2019, the World Health Organization first learned about what ended up becoming the worst pandemic in over a century. That day, WHO’s office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of what it called “viral pneumonia.” The virus that might have […]

This First Person column is written by Elizabeth Barnes, who runs an education centre in Ottawa. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ. Five years and nine months after my breast cancer diagnosis, I received a phone call from my physician’s office reporting a slightly abnormal result of a routine blood test. While we spoke, I was […]

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday called for an end to attacks on hospitals in Gaza after Israel struck one and raided another in the past few days. “Hospitals in Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in […]

10 days ago News Duration 2:44 The holidays are a time of year to be festive and spend time with those we know and love, but what if one of those people isn’t feeling well, and what if that person is you? Some experts, as well as some Montrealers, have weighed in.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) is warning that travellers may have been exposed to measles on Dec. 8 on a flight from Dubai and while travelling through Toronto Pearson International Airport.  In a news release Friday, the health agency said it’s investigating a case of measles with a recent history of international travel.  The public may have […]

A new clinic opening early next year on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island has a different structure it hopes will help attract and retain family doctors amid an ongoing physician shortage.  The Colwood Medical Clinic will be run not as a private practice, as is normally the case, but by the Greater Victoria municipality itself. The mayor says they […]

The Signal organized a full discussion about men and mental health. Taking part were, from left, Brent Beshara, military veteran and health and wellness advocate; Jody Williams, mindset coach; Audrey Wade, mental health advocate and parent; and Bill Jeffery, counsellor at Lonely Man Project. (Arlette Lazarenko/CBC) Jody Williams spent three years in a deep depression, […]

This First Person column is written by Samuel Dunsiger, a career coach and accessibility advocate in Ottawa. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ. As I browsed through the cereal aisle. I felt myself getting light-headed. The room was spinning and I reached out to put my hand on one of […]

If you’re in Halton, Ont., your doctor can now prescribe that you touch some grass. Conservation Halton has partnered with Halton Healthcare and PaRx to offer up to 10 free visits to conservation areas in the region when receiving a prescription for nature. “Anything that we can do to help people have a better quality of […]

Northwest Naturals, an Oregon-based pet food company, is recalling a batch of its two pound (one kilogram) Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after a cat that died of H5N1 avian influenza was linked to the product. The recalled pet food was sold in British Columbia and several American states — including Oregon, Washington and California — and lists the best before […]

The Trexo walker, a Canadian-made exoskeleton, is helping some children living with mobility issues take their first steps. But the high cost of the cutting-edge technology is keeping it out of reach for many families.

For many, the holiday season means tucking into big meals with friends and family who gather to celebrate. But once the dinner ends, attention turns to packing away leftovers. Every year, one in eight Canadians — about four million — are affected by a food-borne illness. Of these, there are 11,600 hospitalizations and more than 230 deaths, the […]

Over the past month in Ontario, officers with three different police agencies were taken to hospital following exposure to fentanyl — but research suggests exposure to the drug carries little danger, and some advocates warn misconceptions about the risk can have their own harmful consequences. On Sunday, police in Durham Region said an officer was taken to hospital after being exposed to fentanyl […]

Even after 23 years, Kelly Edwards stills loves being a paramedic. “It’s very unpredictable. It’s exciting,” she said. “You meet a lot of nice people.” But she admits there’s a much darker side to the job, too. Edwards recalls a time she and her partner were treating an agitated patient. That patient threw a piece of […]

With criminal networks shifting to domestic production of fentanyl and other opioids, the focus of law enforcement at Canada’s borders has now shifted to the chemicals used to make the deadly drugs. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that more than 47,000 Canadians have died of toxic drug overdoses since 2016. Four out of […]

Premier Susan Holt says her government would be willing to ban the herbicide glyphosate if a new investigation finds a link to the purported mystery brain illness that a Moncton neurologist says he is tracking. The province has launched a new investigation into the hundreds of cases, saying the symptoms have sparked fear among many […]

Public health officials say a cluster of measles cases in Ontario linked to an exposure in New Brunswick has grown to 37. Public Health Ontario says 11 of those cases are confirmed and 26 are probable. In an epidemiological summary released last week, the public health agency says the cases began in October and so […]

The family of a seven-year-old boy from Deer Lake First Nation who was denied medical transportation coverage because he didn’t yet have an Indian status card is calling for changes to Ottawa’s Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. Jordan Harper was seriously injured, and his grandmother died, in January in a head-on collision with another vehicle on the winter road near the northwestern […]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall due to possible norovirus contamination of certain oysters distributed in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The agency says the recall covers certain Fanny Bay, Sunseeker and Cloudy Bay oysters under the Taylor Shellfish Canada brand. The recall says most of the affected oysters were harvested and […]

Firefighters in Saskatchewan have been lobbying for decades for better cancer coverage. Now, the Saskatchewan Workers Compensation Board (WCB) is stepping in to provide some relief. Saskatchewan firefighters are now eligible for WCB coverage for up to 22 types of cancer, six more than before. Tyler Packham has spent the last 23 years of his life as […]

For Whitehorse resident Charlie-Rose Pelletier, insomnia is something she’s dealt with on a regular basis for the last two decades — but she says it became worse after she moved to the Yukon from Quebec a few years ago.  “Sleeping for seven hours straight, for more than two nights in a row … what a treat,” she said in French, […]

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is calling on the provincial and federal governments to review medically-assisted dying legislation to ensure proper safeguards are in place. The association’s executive director, Liza Hughes, says in a statement that it’s aware of “concerning reports” of people being offered MAID in circumstances that may not legally qualify or are a result of […]

Serial nurse impersonator Brigitte Cleroux was sentenced to seven years in prison for a long list of crimes committed in B.C. between 2019 and 2021, including impersonation, forgery, fraud, theft, assault and assault with a weapon. Cleroux, 52, used stolen and forged documents to get work as a dental assistant in Surrey, B.C., and as […]

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, where infections in dairy cows are increasing and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S.  That raises new questions about the virus, which has spread for years in wild birds, commercial poultry and many mammal species.  The virus, also known as […]

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has issued a warning to Calgarians that a person with lab-confirmed measles was in public settings in the city while contagious. Residents who were in the same locations as the infected individual between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17, 2024, may have been exposed, AHS says. The locations and dates are: Dec. […]

The family of a B.C. man with bipolar disorder and chronic back pain is suing the federal and provincial governments after he allegedly used a day pass from hospital to end his life with medical assistance. In a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the man’s family claims the 52-year-old — known as JMM — fell into […]

A person in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S., health officials said Wednesday. The patient had been in contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Agency officials didn’t immediately detail the person’s symptoms. Previous illnesses in […]

A recruitment drive to deal with Manitoba’s doctor shortage is taking aim at physicians in the United States who might be concerned about Donald Trump’s incoming presidency. Doctors Manitoba says it has placed ads in several U.S. states, particularly those where governments have targeted issues like abortion or gender-affirming care. The headline on a recruitment website invites doctors […]

Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the southwestern Kwango province is a severe form of malaria. Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the country’s Panzi health zone in November. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, cough, […]

When Joy Akinkunmi signed up for a science fair two years ago, she had no idea that something she was seeing at home would serve as the inspiration for her project. Akinkunmi, now 15, saw how difficult it was for a family member with Lewy body dementia to take their medication. While Akinkunmi helped the […]

In over 30 years of practice, Dr. Errol Billinkoff rarely saw a man without kids come into his Winnipeg clinic to get a vasectomy. But since the pandemic began, he says it’s become an almost daily occurrence.   And he’s not alone. “At first, I thought I was the only one who was noticing this,” Billinkoff, […]

3 days ago News Duration 3:44 Caring for aging parents can be challenging, especially when health issues like dementia come into play. Blue Sky host Leisha Grebinski spoke with Laura Tamblyn Watts and Connie Snider on how to navigate this journey. Watts is the president and CEO of CanAge and author of Let’s Talk About […]

A proposed deal that would see three tobacco giants pay out billions to provinces and territories, as well as smokers across Canada, has been approved by the companies’ creditors, a lawyer representing some of the creditors says, calling it an important milestone in a lengthy legal saga. The proposed $32.5-billion global settlement between the companies […]

This First Person column is written by Jordan Kawchuk, who lives in Duncan, B.C. For more information about First Person stories, see the FAQ. I currently live with 20 other men.  At 52, I never imagined having to explain a roommate, let alone 24 of them — half of whom are straight out of prison. […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. The rapid-fire spread of bird flu, an evolving toxic drug supply and the political response to it, plus the rise […]

The Current27:10How a widow found out about her husband’s dark secrets When Jessica Waite’s husband, Sean, suddenly passed away from a heart attack in 2015 while on a business trip to Houston, she was left in shock.  But the Calgary writer’s life would take another heartbreaking turn.  The day after his funeral, she received a […]

Caregivers are widely criticizing the scaling back of Quebec’s home-care services, which support vulnerable people in accomplishing daily tasks. As part of the service employment paycheque program, the government helps pay for caregivers outside the health network to provide home-care services. About 22,000 Quebecers used the program last year. While people who rely on it […]

ELNA Medical Group, a Montreal-based company that bills itself as Canada’s largest network of medical clinics, has entered creditor protection. The application was granted in Quebec Superior Court. ELNA also received court approval to solicit interest in a potential sale. ELNA’s network includes family medicine and specialty clinics, as well as diagnostic laboratories. The clinics are privately owned and run, […]

More than 15,000 people received medical assistance in dying in Canada in 2023, but federal statistics show the growth in cases has slowed significantly. Health Canada said in its fifth annual report on MAID released Wednesday that the 15,343 people who received help to die last year represented a 15.8 per cent increase from 2022. […]

Most positive tests for RSV so far this season in Canada have been among the youngest, federal data says. And while Health Canada has approved an immunization that can protect all babies from the illness, it’s only available in a few jurisdictions.  For the week ending Nov. 30, about 51 per cent of RSV cases […]

The Ontario government has had six years to follow through on dozens of recommendations from a coroner’s inquest to prevent inmates from dying of drug overdoses at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre.  But close to half of the recommendations haven’t been put into force, the jury in a current inquest heard during closing submissions Tuesday, after over three […]

The Current23:56What teens really think about social media Navigating the challenges of growing up — fitting in, self-image, relationships — can be tough, and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield captures what it’s like for today’s teens in a new documentary series, Social Studies.  The project was inspired by Greenfield’s own experience as a mother to two teenage sons.  […]

When it comes to human experiments, it’ll be tough to find a more chill way to advance scientific knowledge. Starting in early 2025, the Driving Research and Simulation Laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan will run a study using a state-of-the-art driver simulator to test how high people get after consuming edible cannabis. “There’s a […]

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) will not have access to the medical records of Indigenous patients it says were harmed by provincial health providers’ liver transplant policies, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has ruled. In an ongoing human rights complaint, the UBCIC alleges the process to determine who gets a liver transplant discriminates […]

During her cancer treatment, Vanessa Percoco felt forced to choose between paying to feel better or making rent. Percoco, 33, of Laval, Que., had just started on a short contract working with some Grade 3 students with special needs. A diagnosis of advanced colorectal cancer in 2022 put those plans on hold. During more than two years of treatment, which included […]

When Sandra Commerford asked for a raise from a St. Catharines, Ont., hospital in 1998, the registered practical nurse (RPN) was confident she had a strong, open and shut case. Commerford and upwards of 100 other RPNs had started administering medication to patients — a new responsibility that required months of additional training, transformed the job and should have translated […]

A self-described Vancouver Island “childbirth activist” prohibited from serving as a midwife is facing a lawsuit from the parents of a child who was allegedly injured during a botched home birth. Gloria Lemay has been banned for more than two decades from performing midwifery services — but according to a B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit filed this week, […]

White Coat Black Art26:30The power of AI to diagnose rare diseases If it hadn’t been for a Google search 10 years ago, Ian Stedman may never have discovered he had a rare disease and, most importantly, wouldn’t have known how to treat it. Now he hopes the growing development of artificial intelligence will make sure others […]

The Dose24:15What’s the risk of drinking raw milk? Despite the warnings of experts, there are growing conversations around the supposed benefits of raw milk. Raw milk, also known as unpasteurized milk, is milk that has not undergone the pasteurization heating process that eliminates harmful microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Public figures — including Robert F. […]

While there’s been a 35 per cent jump in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases across Canada, the numbers have stabilized in northwestern Ontario — and health-care workers largely attribute it to harm reduction services available in the region. The incident rate in the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s (TBDHU) catchment area was higher than the Ontario average […]

Laura O’Byrne chokes back tears as she recalls walking the woodsy trails of Nova Scotia’s South Shore with her two mastiffs just over a year ago, having finally realized her dream of retiring by the ocean. But now, the 58-year-old spends most days lying down with excruciating pelvic pain in her home in Shelburne County, […]

Public health officials in Africa urged caution Thursday as Congo’s health minister said the government was on alert over a flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people. Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that more details about the disease should be known in […]

Women with disabilities are more likely to be forced into homelessness because of violence or abuse, according to a new report that looks at housing inequities in Canada. Sixty-three per cent of women with disabilities who experienced homelessness said it was because of violence, compared with 54 per cent of women without disabilities, said a […]

Lack of access to family doctors and other primary care providers leaves more Canadians with no option than to go to the emergency department for care, new data suggests. About one in seven visits to the emergency department in Canada are for conditions that could have been managed by a family doctor or other primary care […]

A measles outbreak in New Brunswick and a surge of cases across Canada has renewed calls for a national vaccination registry. New Brunswick has 50 confirmed cases of the highly infectious respiratory disease, as of Wednesday — all in health Zone 3, which includes Fredericton and parts of the Upper St. John River Valley area, and all linked […]

The Legault government will require Quebec-trained doctors, both general practitioners and specialists, to work in the public health-care system for the first five years of their careers, under threat of stiff fines. A bill to this effect was introduced at the National Assembly Tuesday afternoon by Health Minister Christian Dubé. It will be studied in […]

The U.S. government said Tuesday it has closed its investigation into an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers after determining there is no longer a safety risk. The outbreak, which began in late October, sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, including 34 who were hospitalized, according to the U.S. Food […]

Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says the province will stop incarcerating people who have tuberculosis following a CBC investigation that revealed a Manitoba woman spent a month in jail after she was detained to treat the infectious disease. “I read the story this morning. I reached out to the two most senior people in the government […]

The Current20:16This B.C. mom hired a PI to follow her teen’s drug dealer At the height of her daughter’s addiction, Julie Nystrom says she started envisioning what life would be like without her child. She says her daughter, then 17, was hooked on street Xanax and taking up to eight pills a day. She was […]

Fewer people are being diagnosed with and dying of HIV/AIDS around the world. But progress is uneven, and only a few countries are on track to meet global targets set by the United Nations to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030, suggests a new study from The Lancet HIV medical journal. Between […]

President-elect Donald Trump this week cited drugs as a reason for his threat of crushing U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Canadian politicians […]

The Dose21:05How does black plastic affect my health? Certain products made from black plastic — like the kind found in takeout containers, coffee lids and even kitchen utensils — are coming under fire by experts because of a recent study that found a lack of regulation around recycling is causing toxic chemicals to show up […]

There is no grocery store, post office or doctor’s office in remote Fitzgerald, Alta. The northern community is more than 700 kilometres northeast of Edmonton on the Slave River, near Wood Buffalo National Park. The only year-round road out of Fitzgerald links it to the Northwest Territories. The closest town with services and health care is […]

In a small basement food bank, Cheryl Norgaard and her team of volunteers are packing up cans of soup, boxes of pasta and bags of rice to keep people fed in their community of La Ronge, Sask. This week, they’re also adding potatoes and sauerkraut — high in vitamin C — after learning people in […]

Canadian officials say SunFed Produce brand whole, fresh, American cucumbers have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Thursday SunFed is recalling all sizes of the cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers with the SunFed label or in a generic white box or black plastic crate that has a sticker with the growers […]

More than three million Ontarians could be at risk of losing their family doctor to retirement with thousands of family physicians over the age of 60, the provincial Liberals say. According to an October government report that tracks physician and patient counts across the province, there are around 2,300 family doctors who are 60 or […]

Canadian officials say an additional organic carrot product is under recall due to possible E. coli O121 contamination.  Grimmway Farms recalled various organic whole bagged carrots and baby carrots in multiple sizes and brands that were shipped directly to retail distribution centres in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control […]

As It Happens7:01Not everyone can afford a pacemaker, so these doctors are recycling them It’s been more than a decade since a man walked into a Michigan hospital and made the unusual request to donate his late wife’s pacemaker. She had the brand new device implanted just a few months before she died of unrelated causes, […]

A Canadian non-profit that helps women obtain the abortion pill in countries with restrictions says it saw a fourfold increase in U.S. requests after the presidential election. The majority of inquiries came from women who were not pregnant, suggesting many want the drug on hand in case they need it, says Venny Ala-Siurua, executive director […]

A charity is working with hospitals in New Brunswick to provide “comfort kits” to survivors of sexual violence when they’re seen by a nurse following an assault.

It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback

A long-withheld investigation into a 2019 hacking at LifeLabs Inc. that compromised millions of Canadians’ health data has finally been made public after an Ontario court dismissed the company’s appeal to prevent its release. A statement from the privacy commissioners of both Ontario and British Columbia says their joint report, completed in June 2020, found […]

Ontario failed to meet its own legislated target this past year for the average number of hands-on hours of care that long-term care residents receive, a newly updated document shows. The province says it has since reached its goal for the 2023-24 fiscal year, but that happened outside of the timeframe the Progressive Conservative government […]

Windsor’s illegal magic mushroom store, Fun Guyz, is one of more than 30 across the province closing for good.  A spokesperson for Fun Guyz told CBC Windsor the shop on Ouellette Avenue will shutter its doors Monday.  It’s been raided about a half a dozen times by Windsor police, and employees at the store have been charged. […]

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. Ideas53:59Child Sex Abuse Prevention: How Best to Protect Kids Cat Bodden, who was sexually abused by a family member as a child, never imagined she would work with convicted sex offenders. But that’s what she’s done for the better part of […]

White Coat Black Art26:30$150 for 15 minutes, part 1 Audrey Leveillé’s four-month-old son, William, had been sick for about a week, running a fever on and off.  Worried, the mom of two wanted to rule out infection, but couldn’t face the prospect of an hours-long wait in a hospital emergency department, she said. So Leveillé […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. Dr. Will Stymiest, a family physician in Fredericton, noticed a big change in a fellow doctor a few months ago: […]

Manitoba has detected what is believed to be the first confirmed case of a recently identified lineage of mpox in Canada.  The province said Friday it has identified the first confirmed case of clade Ib mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in the province. There are two main forms of mpox virus: clade I and clade II.  “Clade” is a virology term, […]

Municipal officials have opted to end water fluoridation on the island of Montreal in a move spurred by a petition from a resident who claims he has the support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A council representing Montreal and the suburban municipalities on the island decided Thursday evening to stop putting fluoride in the water […]

CBC News follows Tasnim Jaisee and her father along as they navigate the streets of Saskatoon after the first snow storm. Jaisee has osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as the brittle bone disease.

The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what’s believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes. RCMP in Metro Vancouver, Labrador, and Prince […]

A recent inspection of a Tom’s of Maine facility found that the company’s toothpaste was made using bacteria-tained water, among other serious health violations, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a warning letter to CEO Noel Wallace, the FDA said the inspection uncovered disease-causing bacteria in water used to make Tom’s Simply White […]

For the first time, Nova Scotia Health has a program in place providing gender-affirming chest masculinization and feminization surgeries. The health authority did not previously have a dedicated program for these kinds of procedures — commonly referred to as top surgery — with surgeons who have a mandate to provide the care, according to Nova Scotia Health. Two surgeons specifically […]

A First Nation in northwestern Ontario had declared a state of emergency over escalating safety concerns around gang activity. On Tuesday, leaders from Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg First Nation – also known as Pic Mobert First Nation – held a press conference at Queen’s Park to demand more support for what they’re calling “a crisis in violence, […]

About 2.5 million people — nearly the populations of Manitoba and Saskatchewan combined — aren’t getting adequate care for their mental health, according to a new report. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), which released the report on Tuesday, called it a map of the landscape of mental health, addictions and substance use in the […]

One person has died in an E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of people who ate organic carrots that were sold in Canada and the U.S., according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at least 39 people were ill with E. coli infections, including 15 […]

New research suggests girls are falling behind boys when it comes to participating in sports in Canada, prompting calls to close the gap and keep girls active. According to the Rally Report 2024: A Call to Reimagine Sport So All Girls Can Play, released on Monday, 63 per cent of girls surveyed from ages six to 18 report taking part […]

54:10Is being a perfectionist always bad? Does it take you an hour to write an email that should only take five minutes? Do you put off starting work because you’re worried it won’t end up being good enough? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then you may be a perfectionist, according to […]

The Current24:55Online gambling like a racetrack in my pocket 24/7, says recovering addict Adam Pettle recognized he had a gambling problem as a teenager when he began to hide his behaviour. Pettle felt powerless to stop and struggled with his mental health. Eventually, the debts he accumulated led him to sell his family’s home.  “I just […]

Toronto is declaring itself a paid-plasma-free zone — a designation that will likely do nothing to stop Canadian Blood Services from opening two clinics in the city’s suburbs next year that will pay people for plasma donations. Council’s decision came Thursday, when councillors passed a motion asking federal, provincial, territorial and other municipal governments to allow […]

The discovery of 27 cases of scurvy in a northern Saskatchewan community is raising concerns about grocery prices and access to fresh food as income inequality worsens. Earlier this year, a doctor in La Ronge had a hunch that a patient was suffering from scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. The test came […]

Many technologies exist to assist people who are blind or have limited vision to manage daily life. But even without technology, people — regardless of whether they could see or not — can learn the ability to echolocate like bats and whales to see the world around them using sound. Scientists in the U.K. conducted an […]

The Baycrest Koschitzky Centre is launching a free online resource tool it says will help caregivers facing “significant and escalating challenges,” such as isolation, burnout and financial hardship. The Canadian Caregiver Assessment and Resource Tool (C-CART) will give people providing care to someone with disability, illness, or frailty access to resources such as health information services or […]

A teenager diagnosed with bird flu in British Columbia is the first domestically acquired human case of H5N1 avian influenza, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.  Since Influenza A or flu viruses are named after the animal where they are most commonly found, avian viruses are naturally found in birds. H5N1 is a highly transmissible […]

More than 800 million adults have diabetes worldwide — almost twice as many as previous estimates suggested — and more than half of those aged over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment, according to a new study. The study published in The Lancet found the global prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1990 — from […]

Dozens of researchers across Canada, including renowned environmentalist David Suzuki, have joined a growing chorus of voices urging the federal government to halt the importation of an endangered monkey species for medical research in Quebec. A letter signed by 80 scientists, academics, doctors and students says testing on long-tailed macaques from Cambodia should be banned […]

Carolyn Law didn’t think much of it when a snow goose landed in her Richmond, B.C., backyard, on Halloween.  But hours later it had barely moved. Then it started bobbing its head repeatedly. About eight hours after she first saw the bird, it rolled over, began convulsing and died. “It was quite a sad thing to […]

The teenager who tested positive for avian flu is in critical condition and being treated for acute respiratory distress at B.C. Children’s Hospital, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says. Henry says the teen, the first presumptive human case of avian flu contracted in Canada, was admitted to hospital late Friday. Their condition “varied” over […]

A patient safety review is underway after a 48-year-old man went in for an amputation of his right leg at Grace Hospital, but came out of the procedure to find out his left leg below his knee had been removed. Jason Kennedy, a former commercial fisher, knows he may eventually lose both legs but he […]

Terry Rosoman decided to go big and hard for Movember this year, in more ways than one. “I wanted to do a challenge that brought the world together, because I think we can all agree that things have been a bit rubbish recently,” he told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. So he ran 120 kilometres on […]

Noah Sweeney started learning French the moment he was signed up for hockey and baseball in Quebec City as a five-year-old anglophone. Nearly 18 years later, he is still learning — having continued his French education through elementary and high school, university and now at his job where he speaks with the majority of customers […]

The Dose25:27How can women have better sex? Sex researcher Natalie Rosen says there are lots of reasons why women can find sex unenjoyable — it can be painful, lack lubrication, or not match their specific desires and preferences. Research from British condom manufacturer Durex revealed that only 24 per cent of women orgasm every time they […]

Miss something this week? Don’t panic. CBC’s Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need. Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday. Why Canada Dry’s ‘made from real ginger’ claim isn’t on U.S. cans Consumer Emily Scott would like to see Canada Dry remove its ‘made from real ginger’ claim on Canadian cans, as […]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. When you see a specialist or get test results, it might be tempting to think that, somewhere, a medical professional […]

In 2021, Nova Scotia became the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a policy automatically designating all adults as organ donors upon death, unless they had opted out of the program when they were alive.  The idea is called presumed consent, and four years after its implementation in Nova Scotia, the law has led […]

A recently launched mental health app allows Canadian military veterans dealing with mental-health struggles such as post-traumatic stress disorder to speak anonymously with someone who truly understands what they’re going through: another veteran.  “It’s to help us get things out of our head that are just rolling around, and to help us vent to make […]

On day one of Donald Trump’s presidency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’ll be advising Trump to take fluoride out of public water. The former independent presidential hopeful — and prominent proponent of debunked public health claims — has been told he’ll be put in charge of health initiatives in the new Trump administration. He’s described fluoride as “industrial waste.”    […]