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Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are naturally occurring microscopic organisms found in fresh, brackish, or marine water that can form cyanotoxins. These toxins are a serious public health issue as exposure can cause illness and, in worst case scenarios, can be fatal (Svirčev et al. 2017). Under certain environmental conditions, cyanobacteria multiply quickly and create blooms....
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Marine shellfish poisoning refers to illnesses in humans caused by consumption of marine bivalve shellfish (e.g., clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, cockles) that contain biotoxins (e.g., domoic acid, okadaic acid, saxitoxin). Shellfish feed by filtering microscopic marine plants, called phytoplankton, from the water. Some species of phytoplankton naturally produce toxins. These toxins can cause...
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Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Air, Biological Agents, Indoor Air General, Canada
Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) across Canada have different responsibilities, policies, and guidelines when it comes to investigating public inquiries about mould in indoor environments. Some PHIs/EHOs conduct initial walkthroughs only, some conduct comprehensive investigations, and others educate the public about next steps without conducting any field...
Mould_Toolkit_Overview_Nov_2014.pdf, Mould_Toolkit_Checklists_Forms_Nov_2014.pdf, Mould_Toolkit_Typical_Fungi_Nov_2014.pdf, Mould_Toolkit_Sampling_Methods_Nov_2014.pdf, Mould_Toolkit_Interpretation_Lab_Reports_Nov_2014.pdf, Mould_Toolkit_Reviewing_Investigation_Reports_Nov_2014.pdfTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Air, Biological Agents, Indoor Air General, Canada
Excessive dampness and mould growth on building material surfaces and contents can pose health risks and should not be tolerated in indoor environments. A mould assessment determines if mould is present, but does not determine or estimate mould exposure. Health-based exposure limits for indoor mould in residential environments have not been established; inspecting for visible and hidden mould,...
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Excessive dampness and mould growth on building material surfaces and contents can pose health risks and should not be tolerated in indoor environments. The main goal of remediation is to reduce the risk of exposure to mould and to prevent structural damage; the underlying cause of dampness must be identified and eliminated or mould will reappear. Effective mould remediation requires the physical...
View Full ArticleTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Air, Biological Agents, Indoor Air General, Canada
Moulds are naturally occurring and widespread in the environment; therefore, it is not possible to eliminate exposure. Sufficient evidence exists to conclude that exposure to mould in indoor environments is associated with asthma and asthma-like symptoms (in asthmatic people), upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough and wheeze, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis in susceptible people. There is...
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Topics: Air, Contaminants and Hazards, Biological Agents, Chemical Agents, Indoor Air, Practices and Procedures, Radiation General, Canada
Personal cultivation as described by the proposed Cannabis Act (2017) will permit adults to cultivate up to four cannabis plants per household. This provision is intended to both promote equity by facilitating access to legal cannabis, particularly when retail outlets are difficult to access, and to undercut the black market. However, indoor cultivation and processing of cannabis may also...
View Full ArticlePrimary inquiry: Small horticulture growers have been watering their crops with surface water containing a cyanobacterial bloom, before selling their crops at local markets.
Can irrigation of food crops using surface water affected by cyanobacteria blooms result in bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins in these crops?
Can cyanotoxins bioaccumulate to a concentration that might cause a public health...
View Full ArticleWhat are cyanobacteria? Are cyanoblooms preventable? Who is at risk and how does exposure occur? Is there testing for cyanotoxins?
This NCCEH document provides a brief outline of these key questions related to cyanobacteria and the toxins they produce.
View Full ArticleTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Water, Biological Agents, Communicable & Infectious Diseases, Drinking Water
While boiling water is an effective way to kill most microbial pathogens, research performed in the United Kingdom has shown that people do not necessarily comply with boil water advisories. Similarly, in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000, only 44% of respondents reported that they were aware of the order to boil water when it was first issued on the local radio at the start of the outbreak and in...
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Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Biological Agents, Food General, Canada
Trigger for Investigation
On June 18, 2010 a commercial harvester advised an inspection specialist at CFIA of four cases of suspect PSP-related illness that occurred June 17, 2010. CFIA began an investigation and trace-back and advised relevant public health authorities of illnesses to ensure follow-up of cases. You are the epidemiologist working at the local health authority where the cases...
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Topics: Biological Agents, Climate, Communicable & Infectious Diseases, Contaminants and Hazards, Practices and Procedures, Risk Analysis
A changing climate brings the threat of emerging, new infectious diseases and the resurgence of old infectious outbreaks. To ensure that public health professionals and policy makers receive timely information, effective risk communication must be used.
NCCEH and NCCID jointly presented a webinar last year that provided different perspectives on communicating risk in an “environment of change"....
NCCEH-NCCID Webinar Ticks_Risk_Communication Nicol.pdf, Webinar_2017 Lessons learned from previous outbreaks West Nile virus-Elmieh (1).pdf, Webinar_2017 Communicating Climate Change-Stephen (1).pdf