Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Health
News Service
What to know about cyclospora, the gut-churning parasite causing illness in several U.S. states, and how to avoid it
By CNN Published: July 07, 2026 at 3:53PM EDT
Full article
Kingston’s public health unit is investigating 114 cases of a stomach illness caused by ingesting contaminated food or water. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson reports.
Got a nasty stomach bug that won’t go away? It could be cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection that causes weeks of debilitating diarrhea, cramps and bloating.
This infection tends to occur during the warm summer months, but several U.S. states are reporting increases in cases beyond what they would normally expect at this point in the year.
U.S. Federal health officials say they are seeing a higher-than-expected number of cyclosporiasis cases spread across several states. They may not all stem from the same source.
Federal officials have been investigating several clusters of cases in Illinois, New York City, New York State, Pennsylvania and Texas, which appear to be linked to Mexican-style restaurants, a grocery chain, and a catered event, according to an email sent by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to state and local partners that was obtained by CNN.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation network is conducting traceback investigations on white and green onions, cucumbers and cilantro, in an effort to narrow down potential sources, the email said.
The CDC says there’s no evidence at this point suggesting these earlier clusters are part of a multi-state outbreak.
At least eight additional cyclosporiasis clusters have been identified in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. However, case interviews are still pending, and these investigations are still in their early stages, the CDC said. The agency plans to update cyclosporiasis website later this week.
The largest of these clusters appears to be in Michigan. The state says it typically logs about 50 cases of cyclosporiasis annually. It has now seen 681 since June 22, pointing to an outbreak with a common source.
Since the beginning of the year, Ohio says, it has received reports of 177 cyclosporiasis cases, with 171 of those coming in June, mostly since June 20. New York state says it’s seen 112 cases this year – outside of New York City – with 107 of those reported since May 1.
Investigations are underway to nail down the causes, but it may be slow going.
That’s because little is known about cyclospora compared with pathogens like salmonella and E. coli, said Dr. Jennifer McEntire, a microbiologist who is founder and CEO of Food Safety Strategies, which advises clients on dealing with cyclospora.
“It’s very peculiar, and obviously, like this year, it’s rearing its head in a very ugly way,” she said.
‘Cyclospora is a weird one’
Cyclosporiasis, which is caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, is especially difficult to trace back to a single source, said Dr. Max Teplitski, who once led the Division of Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is now chief science officer for the International Fresh Produce Association.
Teplitski recently co-chaired an advisory committee tasked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with digging into why cyclospora outbreaks have steadily been increasing in the United States in recent years.
“Cyclospora is a weird one,” he said.
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection caused by the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. It's shown here through a microscope on a slide. Melanie Moser/CDC/DPDx via CNN Newsource
With some foodborne pathogens, like E. coli and salmonella bacteria, scientists can sequence, or read, their DNA to match a strain that’s making people sick with a strain that’s contaminating food or water. This gene matching is how scientists often spot outbreaks of foodborne illness in the first place.
A national network of surveillance labs called PulseNet constantly sequences the genes of bacteria that make people sick so they can compare the DNA fingerprints of cases in near-real time. When the fingerprints match across multiple cases in different states, scientists know to look for a common source.
But gene matching only works because the genetics of a particular strain of E. coli or salmonella change very little as they transmit from food to us or from person to person. The letters of their instructions read the same way each time, so they can be tracked pretty easily.
It doesn’t work quite the same way for cyclospora, McEntire said.
“For the bacterial pathogens, the technology is quite mature, and the organisms are really very, very simple. It’s like reading a children’s book versus reading “War and Peace” — cyclospora being the “War and Peace.” McEntire said.
“They’re all letters of the alphabet, but they are not the same thing,” she said.
Because these parasites have sex (more on that later) and swap pieces of their DNA to reproduce, their offspring share genes from their male and female parts, which means their genes look very different from one generation to the next, making the family tree harder to follow, Teplitski explained.
Over the past five years or so, McEntire said scientists at the CDC have “done an incredible amount of work” so they can now use genotyping to roughly bucket people and identify those who have one “strain” of cyclospora compared to another. But she says the fidelity with that testing is not the same as with investigations of other types of foodborne pathogens.
CDC scientists are using genotyping to help track cyclospora clusters. But solving an outbreak still largely depends on shoe-leather detective work done by epidemiologists who follow up with each person confirmed to have a cyclospora infection. They ask a detailed series of questions about what the sick person ate and when. Because people aren’t great at remembering everything they might have had for breakfast a week ago, they may also analyze data from grocery receipts and credit card purchases to help fill in the gaps. It’s painstaking work.
Typically, these questionnaires are focused on food. Teplitski says he hopes investigators are also looking at water sources like lakes and water parks.
“We certainly hope that they go back and they ask their patients, ‘What about recreational activities? What about other types of exposure to well water?’ ” he said. “All of these are multiple sources of the same parasites.”
What causes cyclosporiasis?
Cyclosporiasis is caused by a single-celled parasite spread through human feces. People get it by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, usually when swimming or when eating raw produce.
Produce that is hard to wash thoroughly, like berries and fresh herbs, is a common source, as are swimming pools, lakes, splash pads and water parks.
Foods most frequently associated with outbreaks in the U.S. and other countries since the mid-1990s include:
Raspberries: 12 outbreaks
Basil: 11 outbreaks
Salad mixes (including vegetable trays and coleslaw): 8 outbreaks
Cilantro: 6 outbreaks
Berry/fruit mixes: 6 outbreaks
Lettuce: 2 outbreaks
Snap peas: 2 outbreaks
Once someone swallows the oocytes, or the egg-like stage of the parasite, a plot worthy of an “Alien” movie plays out in the intestines.
First, they differentiate into male and female forms, have sex and reproduce. (Yes, all this happens in your gut.) Their oocysts, or eggs, then burrow into the intestinal wall, where they destroy cells and are shed back into the environment when we poop.
In a study, diligent washing removed most, but not all, of the cyclospora eggs on raspberries. Steven Robinson Pictures/Moment RF/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
When the weather is warm, they grow and mature outside the body for several weeks before creating more spores that are ready to infect someone else.
Because the spores need time to mature outside the body, people don’t typically pass the parasite to other people they live or work with. Transmission tends to happen more indirectly.
What are the symptoms of cyclosporiasis?
The symptoms of a cyclospora infection “are a little different than you sometimes see with Salmonella or E. coli,” said Dr. Rebecca Schein, an infectious disease expert at Michigan State University Health Care.
Sometimes people run a fever, she said, but it’s not especially common.
“It’s just more very watery diarrhea. More than three times a day and then feeling kind of bloated, full, uncomfortable,” Schein said. “Sort of like you just ate Thanksgiving dinner, but every day.”
Even healthy people can see this stomach bug continue for weeks.
“If you have a normal immune system, it will eventually go away, but it could take six weeks,” Schein said. The symptoms may come and go, too.
People who have compromised immune systems could see their symptoms persist.
In those cases, “The symptoms will not go away until you treat it,” Schein said.
How is cyclosporiasis diagnosed?
Normally, when doctors are looking for the cause of a stomach bug, they will check a patient’s stool with a multiplex test, a single lab test that looks for multiple pathogens at the same time.
Cyclospora is not on those panels.
“It can be easily missed if you don’t do the right test, and that’s kind of the one of the hard parts about this,” Schein said. Doctors have to order a particular kind of test that requires a special stain that turns the eggs of the parasite bright pink or orange so they can be seen under a microscope.
The Texas Department of State Health Services posted a health advisory in May warning that because the eggs shed from the body inconsistently, doctors may need to do as many as three tests spaced 24 hours apart to make an accurate diagnosis.
How is cyclosporiasis treated?
Once the infection has been diagnosed, treatment is relatively straightforward, Schein said.
The parasite is treated with a combination of antibiotics called trimethoprim-sulfa, which is sold under the brand names Bactrim and Septra. A course typically runs seven to 10 days, though people with reduced immunity may need to take it for longer.
The reason an antibiotic works on a parasite, Schein said, is that it interferes with Cyclospora’s ability to use the vitamin folate to make energy. It works on some other types of parasites as well.
If you’ve had diarrhea that’s gone on for longer than three to five days – or longer than two days if you live in an area near a known outbreak – it’s important to get tested, Schein said.
“The recommendation is to treat people who have cyclosporiasis, because it can last so long, and it’s just uncomfortable, and it can … spread into the environment if we don’t treat it,” she said.
Can you get rid of cyclospora by washing your produce?
Researchers in Norway studied this question in 2021, contaminating blueberries and raspberries with three kinds of parasites: cyclospora, cryptosporidium and giardia. Then they washed the berries three ways.
The first method involved putting the berries in a strainer and running them under plain tap water for one minute. The second involved filling a salad spinner with water and immersing the berries for one minute while stirring them by hand before draining and spinning them for 10 seconds. Lastly, they mixed one part vinegar with three parts of water in a bowl big enough to cover the berries and stirred by hand for one minute before rinsing and draining.
They learned a few things. It was easier to clean the smooth blueberries compared with the bumpy and slightly fuzzy surface of the raspberries, a finding that helps explain why raspberries top the list of foods associated with outbreaks.
Another curious thing was that cyclospora seemed to be extra sticky. It was tougher to get its eggs off the raspberries than it was the Cryptosporidium and the Giardia.
Finally, the vinegar water rinse got more of the parasites off the raspberries than rinsing them under plain water. It was a little bit more effective than the salad spinner method, but it wasn’t enough to make a significant difference in the results.
The salad spinner and vinegar methods were equally good, getting most of the cyclospora eggs off, but even so, some were left on the fruit. However, it’s not clear whether the remnants would be enough to make anyone sick.
Bottom line: Washing your produce is always a good practice for whatever nasties could be hitching a ride into your kitchen.
The FDA offers tips about handling and cleaning fresh produce:
Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.
If the produce is damaged or bruised before eating or handling, cut away the damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
Rinse produce before you peel it, so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the fruit or vegetable.
Gently rub produce while holding under plain running water. There’s no need to use soap or a produce wash.
Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers.
Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.
Remove the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage before using.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
News from GuelphMercury.com:
Should you wash raw chicken? Ontario food safety expert settles debate
University of Guelph Food Science professor Keith Warriner says the tradition of washing chicken is putting you at greater risk for contracting a food borne illness.
By
Evelyn Harford
Insidehaltoncom
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
3 min to read
Article was updated 4 hrs ago from GuelphMercury.com
When it comes to whether or not you should wash your chicken, Ontario food safety expert Keith Warriner explains there’s really only one correct answer.
“Washing doesn’t make chicken safer but rather spreads pathogens like salmonella and campylobacter around sinks and surfaces, where it can contaminate other foods such as salads,” he said.
Salmonella and Campylobacter, two common bacteria that cause food borne illnesses, are killed during the cooking process.
Both can cause your typical “stomach bug” symptoms, vomiting, diarrhea and malaise.
However, in some people, particularly in younger and older age groups, more serious symptoms and complications can arise.
Health Canada’s food safety advice lines up.
“Never rinse poultry before cooking it because the bacteria can spread wherever the water splashes,” the regulator advises.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention cites raw and undercooked poultry as some of the more “riskier foods” when it comes to food safety.
“Raw chicken is ready to cook and doesn’t need to be washed first,” the CDC says. “Washing these foods can spread germs to other foods, the sink, and the counter and make you sick.”
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Where does the chicken washing debate come from?
Warriner says this washing chicken question, which is subject to “divisive debate,” was posed to a group of food safety experts at an International Association for Food Protection conference back in 2022.
“The session was related to food safety communication and we asked the audience who washes chicken before cooking,” he said. “As scientists, they knew washing did not do anything, but those who (did it) said it was because their parents or grandparents did it.”
Warriner explains the kitchen habit is a classic example of traditions passed down through generations.
“Back in the day, I would say up until the 1970s, it wasn’t uncommon for chicken and turkey to have a few feathers on and blood spots,” he said.
At that time, it was common to wash off the feathers and blood. Now, it would be rare to see this on chicken in the store but, despite that, the tradition has stuck around.
“Interestingly, those who wash chicken also put stuffing in the cavity to cook at Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though this isn’t food safety wise,” he said.
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What are the biggest risks when preparing chicken?
Warriner said the most significant risk is undercooking when the internal temperature at the cold point doesn’t reach 74 C.
Undercooking
“This commonly happens with BBQ and potentially via air fryers where the surface gets cooked quicker than interior,” he explained.
Unlike beef, which is sterile inside, salmonella and campylobacter can become associated with the lymphatic system thereby may be found inside poultry muscle.
Cross-contamination
The prevalence of salmonella in store-bought chicken is around 20 per cent, which increases the risk of depositing the bacteria onto a cutting board or utensil, then passing it onto the cooked product or other foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Lack of handwashing
You also need to wash your hands after handling raw poultry, as there is potential for cross-contamination and making yourself sick.
Improper temperature controls
Keeping your food at safe temperatures before, after and during cooking is critical to ensure food safety, Warriner says.
Some people defrost frozen poultry on the counter or even in the garage, which can increase their risk of getting sick.
“If the surface temperature goes above 10 C, there is a risk of Staphylococcus aureus growing that produces a toxin that won’t be destroyed by heat,” he said.
After cooking, Warriner explains the food poisoning risk primarily comes from Clostrodium perfringens — a bacteria found in soil, sewage and animal intestines.
“The pathogen survives the cooking process then grows if the poultry is held at room temperature for more than two hours,” he said. “This is more common with turkey at events like Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Storing raw poultry on the top shelf of the fridge may also cause drips contaminating pathogens to contact the foods below.
Warriner’s advice is cook, clean, separate and ensure correct temperature controls when it comes to foods.
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How to clean up after preparing chicken
When cleaning up after cooking and preparing poultry, it’s a good idea to take it seriously.
Warriner recommends keeping things separate, washing up thoroughly and using cleaning agents that can help eliminate any pathogens that may have been spread around in the process.
“Its good to treat chicken like nuclear material,” he said. “Even defrosting in cold water is better in a dedicated container than a sink.”
For sanitizing surfaces, it’s better to use one cap of bleach in two litres of water.
“People often make the mistake of using neat bleach (standard liquid chlorine bleach) from the bottle,” said Warriner.
“‘Neat bleach’ is alkali, so in its least antimicrobial form, but diluting in water brings it down to pH 7 when it is antimicrobial,” he explains.
The dishwasher sterilizes by using heat, so placing your cutting boards and utensils in there is a good option.
More natural cleaning strategies aren’t going to cut it either, Warriner says.
“Some use vinegar and bicarbonate (baking soda), which doesn’t do much except fizz,” he said. “The disinfectants that have malic and citric acid don’t do much either apart from smelling nice.”
For more information on poultry safety, check out Health Canada’s guidelines.
Monday, 22 June 2026
Toronto Star
Updated June 20, 2026 at 4:21 p.m.
June 20, 2026
2 min read
Kristjan-Lautens
By Kristjan LautensStaff Reporter
Like a mirage on the water, a mysterious floating convenience store appeared on Lake Ontario this week.
Shelves stuffed with snacks and household items can be seen through the front windows, which also feature a neon “open” sign beside its aged brick walls. A selection of flowers and produce spills onto the mini-mock street, complete with a yellow fire hydrant.
Local kayakers won’t actually be able to enter through its doors and pick up the basics, though. The makers of the art installation “Global Convenience” say the symbol of a local corner store is meant for something more: bringing Toronto together during the World Cup.
The artists say the convenience store transcends language barriers because it is instantly recognized as a place for community across the globe. They hope it brings unsuspecting onlookers joy while it bobs on the waters about 50 metres into the Harbour Square Basin, just west of the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal near Bay and Lakeshore, until October.
Richard Lautens Toronto Star
“Convenience stores, local markets, rum shops, bodegas, these are familiar places no matter where you’re from. So when people are visiting Toronto for the World Cup, we want them to feel that familiarity,” said Rashad Maharaj, the producer of the project.
Maharaj and Spencer Cathcart make up Puncture, a local arts-focused production company. They teamed up with artists Trevor Wheatley and Cosmo Dean when they heard Waterfront Toronto was looking for projects.
The store is meant to be seen from the shore, with enough details to enjoy the project from up close. Wheatley was interested in the idea of placing an urban symbol in a natural setting to see how it transforms and surprises viewers.
“Rather than relocating a single word or sign, we saw an opportunity to transplant an entire urban typology into an unexpected environment,” Wheatley said.
The group started working on the project in February, before being awarded the contract, and quickly had to meld their artistic vision with complex engineering challenges.
“The water throws you curveballs you just don’t expect,” Maharaj said. “Every decision had to account for weight, buoyancy, wind, and weather.”
They learned how to keep the lights on through the night using solar power so the store can serve as a beacon against the dark waters.
Even though nobody can go inside, the details were meticulously crafted. Lines of flags and international products, such as a potato chip brand from the Philippines and an instant noodle brand from South Korea, fill the shelves, which are designed to look aged and lived-in.
Richard Lautens Toronto Star
Wheatley hopes to first surprise people walking by when they see the store set adrift, before their shock turns into curiosity.
“If people walk away thinking about the small spaces they pass every day, and the artifacts of globalization embedded within them, that would feel like a meaningful outcome,” Wheatley said. He added that the project aims to provoke discussion about how “context shapes understanding.”
Maharaj just hopes it sparks some smiles.
“There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and there’s something really special about watching people just light up and interact with it,” Maharaj said.
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
CBC
Mouse droppings in product from Atlantic Superstore forces bakery, deli areas to close
CBC
Tue, June 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
An Atlantic Superstore in Charlottetown, P.E.I., has temporarily closed its deli and bakery counters after a complaint from a customer who found mouse droppings in a bag of buns they bought.
Prince Edward Island's Chief Public Health Office received the complaint at the beginning of June. Inspectors paid the store at 465 University Ave. a visit, and soon after ordered all in-house production in those areas of the store to be paused.
"When we find an infraction, we do a risk assessment to determine if there is a concern for public health," said Tanya O'Brien, director of environmental health.
"Based on the findings in the June 4 inspection, we issued an order to close both the deli and the bakery sections of the store."
Tanya O'Brien, director of P.E.I.'s department of environmental health.
'Rodents are prevalent in P.E.I. … but that's why it's important for facilities to take measures to eliminate them quickly so they don't get into the food,' says Tanya O'Brien, director of environmental health. (Ken Linton/CBC)
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Staff were ordered to discard any food that was prepared in either section, as well as any product that had signs of contamination like gnaw marks or droppings from rodents.
A spokesperson for Loblaws, the corporation that owns the Atlantic Superstore chain, apologized for any concern this may cause customers.
"Food safety is fundamental to our business and we take concerns of this nature very seriously," the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
"We investigated the customer concern immediately and implemented additional measures, including enhanced pest management activity, comprehensive product assessments, facility improvements, and additional preventive controls."
The corporation also noted that all production has been shifted to another facility until additional preventive measures are completed.
Department flagged sanitation issues in May
Inspectors had previously noted some unsanitary conditions at the store just last month. O'Brien said staff from her department stopped by for a routine check at the end of May.
That report concluded the store's overall sanitation was unsatisfactory and would require another check in a couple weeks. It was during that time period when the complaint about the mouse droppings came in.
O'Brien said the findings of the first visit did not include any signs of rodent activity, but there were concerns with overall sanitation and how food was being stored.
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But she added that this is the first unsatisfactory grade the location has received in many years. She said the store's operators have been "fully co-operative," have been reacting properly to the issue and are providing regular updates and reports.
O'Brien said rodents are commonly found on food premises across the Island. Droppings in food, on the other hand, are less frequently reported.
"Rodents are prevalent in P.E.I. … but that's why it's important for facilities to take measures to eliminate them quickly so they don't get into the food," she said, adding that food should be stored properly so it's protected from contamination even if mice or rats are present.
The Atlantic Superstore would normally be assessed once or twice a year, O'Brien said, but in this case the department will continue to monitor the store on a regular basis.
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In the meantime, she said, there's no definitive timeline on how long the closure of the bakery and deli would last.
"Pest control has been on site and continues to be on site to monitor the situation and to work to eliminate the rodents that are there and to prevent further entry into the premises," O'Brien said.
"Once that's been completed, and a thorough clean and disinfection of all surfaces has been completed, then they will go back on site to reassess."
Friday, 5 June 2026
AP
Follow
Australian cockroach kingpin caught with 100,000 illegal insects in record bug bust
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY
Updated Fri, June 5, 2026 at 12:48 AM EDT
2 min read
Australia Cockroaches Seized Image supplied by Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
New Zealand (AP) — More than 100,000 live cockroaches illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder in the country's largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, officials said Friday.
The haul of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches, worth 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), was seized in May from a commercial breeder in the city of Bathurst in New South Wales state, according to Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
The Madagascar hissing species is one of the world's biggest cockroaches, measuring 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) in length. Photos released by the department showed a shiny, brown invertebrate larger than a person's finger.
It's much bigger than the country's common Australian cockroach, which measures between 0.9 and 1.4 inches (2.3 and 3.6 centimeters) long. Cockroaches flourish in Australia due to its sub-tropical climates and the country is home to hundreds of species.
Bathurst snake catcher Stefanie Lesser told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the larger exotic species were likely being sold as as a cost-effective reptile food because their large size meant fewer insects were needed. Officials urged pet owners to seek out crickets or wood roaches to feed their lizards instead.
Both Madagascar hissing and dubia cockroaches are illegal to import into Australia. They can't be legally kept, bred or sold no matter how they were obtained, the department said in a statement.
Australia has strict biosecurity controls at its borders to protect its agriculture and horticulture sectors and native wildlife from pest infestations. Those smuggling in undeclared or illegal animal, insect or plant material can be fined thousands of dollars.
Exotic cockroaches "have not been subject to an environmental risk assessment" and they could spread disease or harm native wildlife, the statement said. Officials warned of prosecutions against those caught with the invertebrates.
A spokesperson said charges weren't laid against the Bathurst breeder. The cockroaches seized would be euthanized, the department said.
Sunday, 17 May 2026
CBS News
Canada
National lab confirms hantavirus case for Canadian cruise passenger isolating in B.C.
Second person who travelled with confirmed case tested negative: Canada's public health agency.
(CBC News · Posted: May 17, 2026 12:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 42 minutes ago)
A cruise ship with people with masks.
A person wearing a protective mask stands on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain on May 11, 2026. (Pedro Nunes/Reuters)
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Canada's public health agency confirmed a positive case of hantavirus in a Canadian isolating in British Columbia after leaving the cruise ship affected by a deadly outbreak.
In a news release Sunday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said laboratory testing conducted by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirmed one passenger tested positive for the virus on Friday after samples were sent from B.C.
The case was first reported publicly by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, earlier Friday, when she said the test had come back with a "presumptive positive" result.
PHAC said a second person who travelled with the confirmed case tested negative for hantavirus.
Henry said the patient was hospitalized after developing mild symptoms, including fever and headache, earlier in the week.
"There have been no further cases identified at this time. All high-risk contacts are isolating and will continue to be monitored closely by local public health," PHAC said.
The agency said the overall risk to the general population in Canada remains low from the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the ship.
WATCH | Dr. Bonnie Henry's Friday update:
Canadian in isolation tests 'presumptive positive' for hantavirus after leaving cruise ship: B.C.'s top doctor
May 16
|
Duration23:49
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says a Canadian isolating in B.C. has tested 'presumptive positive' for hantavirus after leaving the cruise ship affected by an outbreak of the Andes strain in recent weeks.
"All confirmed cases to date have been passengers or crew on the MV Hondius cruise ship. Given the severity of this virus, we are taking a precautionary approach to ensure Canadians are protected," the agency added.
Dr. Joss Reimer, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, thanked public health authorities and frontline staff in B.C. in the statement, "for the dedicated care that they are providing and for their ongoing management of the situation, and the passengers for their co-operation with public health direction to help keep others safe."
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices·About CBC News
Sunday, 10 May 2026
Sunday, 3 May 2026
BBC News
One case of Hantavirus has been confirmed, with five more suspected cases under investigation, it said. One British national is reportedly in intensive care.
The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.
Hantavirus infections are usually linked to environmental exposure, such as contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents, but in rare cases can spread between people, leading to severe respiratory illness.
Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for South Africa's health ministry, earlier told the BBC that at least two people had died.
The MV Hondius is run by Dutch-based tour company Oceanwide Expeditions.
According to an itinerary on the Oceanwide Expeditions website, MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in Argentina on 20 March and was expected to complete its journey on 4 May in Cape Verde.
A map showing where Argentina, Cape Verde and South Africa are located
South African authorities told the BBC the first person to show symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board. His body is now on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.
His 69-year-old wife also became ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.
A 69-year-old Briton was also reportedly evacuated to Johannesburg, where he is being treated in intensive care.
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, MV Hondius is a 107.6m (353ft) long polar cruise ship, with space for 170 people in 80 cabins.
WHO also said it was helping co-ordinate between member states and the ship's operators for the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as a full public health risk assessment and support for those still on board.
It has described the outbreak as a "public health event".
Friday, 17 April 2026
Food Safety #DirtyDining: Investigation of food safety violations linked to food services in college and university.
Media interview of Health Inspector by CityNews TV.
Most campus eateries at Toronto colleges and universities have had some form of food safety violation. The results from the public health inspections turned a few students’ heads — and stomachs. Interview highlighting the important role of Health Inspectors on #FoodSafety inspection and enforcement.
Friday, 6 March 2026
YorkRegion.com
Travelling south for March break? How to avoid illnesses hitting Ontario travellers
Ontario food safety expert shares essential tips to avoid illness ahead of March break travel, following reports of an outbreak at a Cancun resort and ill passengers at Toronto Pearson Airport.
Peel paramedics responded to reports of ill passengers on a flight at Toronto Pearson Airport.
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