Flu season (yellow) is winding down in Canada after a really difficult December/early January. RSV (red) is now rising later in the season, while COVID (blue) remains relatively flat, possibly picking up in the spring.

Influenza put considerable pressure on Canada's healthcare system through December but is declining sharply in the New Year.

Canada’s influenza season has finally peaked and is starting to ease off. RSV and COVID are now slowly ticking upward.

It’s been a tough flu season in Ontario. The good news is that it likely peaked and is now starting to ease, though we can expect several more weeks of widespread flu activity.

Happy new year!

Regardless of where you land on COVID’s origins, accidental laboratory leaks are a known risk - they can and do happen. Preventing them requires a serious, ongoing global investment in biosafety and biosecurity. A good read, by Manuel Ansede: tinyurl.com/a27pbr3p

Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Thank you to everyone working today, especially those keeping our healthcare system up and running.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne illness found in many tropical regions that can cause significant discomfort. A vaccine is available in Canada, but use should limited to specific situations because risks generally outweigh benefits for most people. Link: tinyurl.com/yr5bufdv

Antibiotic-resistant typhoid infections are a growing global health problem, made worse now by emerging carbapenem resistance. tinyurl.com/4uy7f6y3 by Thirumoorthy et al.

Canada is in the midst of a rough flu season. It's not too late to get a flu shot.

There is a lot of influenza circulating in Canada right now. The flu can be especially rough on older adults & young kids...see below for current flu hospitalization rates. It’s not too late to get your flu shot if you haven’t already.

#FDA has approved a new 1st-in-class oral antibiotic for the treatment of #gonorrhea, which has been making its way through the armamentarium of available antibiotics. Nuzolvence was brought to market through a private-public partnership involving @gardp.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2025/12/12/f...

Flu season is here, and it might be a tougher one than usual. It is not too late to get your flu shot.

Two cases of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a dangerous viral infection, detected in France in travellers from the Arabian Peninsula. Another reminder that our world is deeply interconnected & vigilance for imported infections is essential. tinyurl.com/4mdhwfdz

On World AIDS Day, remember that HIV risk often changes over time & that our prevention tools keep expanding. PrEP, PEP & PEP-in-Pocket ("PIP") offer strong, flexible protection. A "buffet" approach lets people choose what best fits their lives. tinyurl.com/2zkf3hak

World AIDS Day is on Dec. 1. Since 2004, global deaths have been in decline due to greater access to diagnostics, treatment & prevention. This hard-won progress is now at risk due to major cuts to global public health. We can't afford to go backward.

More data outlining how COVID vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalizations & death, especially among those aged 65 and older. This aligns nicely with recommendations from Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization. 🇨🇦 Link: tinyurl.com/yuwmmtt4 by Hansen et al.

Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...

Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)

Someone in Germany is shedding poliovirus - a crippling disease which should be eradicated. This is another stark reminder of the risks we face when global vaccination coverage slips. Link: tinyurl.com/y8t73dyc

Exciting to see a new compound showing promise against malaria. As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater. tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social .

Canada has lost its measles elimination status...a sad milestone. Now is the time to double down on lowering barriers to routine childhood immunizations and ensuring Canadians have access to credible, science-based information. Link: tinyurl.com/c8nfxvk3

Influenza cases are climbing in Canada. Flu shots are widely available, and can help lower the chance of infection and hospitalization. Below are this year’s flu trends (arrow) vs. the past three years.

Antimicrobial resistance kills over a million people yearly. I joined colleagues before the House of Commons Committee on Science & Research to discuss how Canada can help fight this threat. Local action matters but global coordination is essential. 🇨🇦 ➡️ tinyurl.com/3sfdvzt2

@paulsaxmd.bsky.social knocks it out of the park with his analysis on 2 new COVID vaccine studies. If you want data, nuance & common sense, have a read. Key takeaway: COVID vaccine makes sense for those at greatest risk for severe infection (eg. elderly). Link: tinyurl.com/yc63e9c2

Attending the Global Conference on Biological Threat Reduction in Geneva with colleagues from around the world to strengthen strategies against infectious disease outbreaks, whether natural, accidental, or deliberate. Great to see Canada taking a leadership role in this sphere.🇨🇦

The southern hemisphere offers an imperfect but useful preview of our flu season, and they had a tough one: High case numbers & lower vaccine uptake among those most at risk. Flu shots in Ontario for high risk folks are available now & to the general public starting next week.

A locally acquired case of Chikungunya virus in New York State? This is a first. Chikungunya is a mosquito-transmitted infection that can cause impressive (and sometimes lasting) joint pain and inflammation. Link: tinyurl.com/57ue229x

New 🇨🇦 data in @cmaj.ca (from BC) showing relatively strong population-level measles immunity. Outbreaks are likely to be more focal in under-vaccinated groups. Some age cohorts are still <90% immune, so maintaining high vaccine coverage remains key. Link: tinyurl.com/4tz5eftj

Our team is developing portable digital microscopes that harness AI to automatically detect parasitic infections. This shows great potential to help public health programs expand access to affordable disease screening in low-resource settings. Link: tinyurl.com/4bazch67

Glad to see this finally coming to an end…

“The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) shows signs of containment, with no new confirmed or probable cases reported since our last update” Some cautious good news from @who.int #IDSky hq_who_departmentofcommunications.cmail19.com/t/d-l-ggllll...

So tragic: Alberta baby born with congenital #measles (mother contracted measles late in pregnancy) died shortly after birth. The province, which has had a massive measles outbreak this year, says this is the 7th case of congenital measles in 2025. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

To our American friends who may now be struggling to find health information on US websites: Please check out the Public Health Agency of Canada's website for helpful resources, updated dashboards & practical health tips. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 canada.ca/en/public-he...

Although the genetic fingerprint has shifted a bit, there is absolutely nothing new from a clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventive perspective. Are we really going to do this every time the virus mutates, which it will continue to do frequently & indefinitely? Link: tinyurl.com/3kt32bm9

Report of the 2024 #marburg outbreak in #rwanda. The response successfully treated two patients in the icu, simultaneously ran vaccine and treatment trials and effectively contained the outbreak. 15/66 cases died. They gave the world a lesson in outbreak response. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

🆕 Introducing FirstCallID 🎓 Practical ID teaching for busy clinicians 🚨 Ep 1 is live: How to Do an ID Consult ✔️ What to ask ✔️ What to notice ✔️ What your attending actually cares about 📺 Direct link to video: youtu.be/W1mrYwpxLK0 📘 Follow for updates: @firstcallid.bsky.social #idsky #medsky

Ontario needs a vaccination registry: Kieran Moore https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/ontario-needs-a-vaccination-registry-to-identify-coverage-gaps-top-doctor-says/article_9ce14bd7-d362-42ea-9b07-94f37827c133.html More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

A Policy to Override Policy. Every leader & administrator in Healthcare/Public Health (clinical, research, education) should be required to watch this 10 min clip. This creates systems to improve patient care, research & education. By @BradSpellberg tinyurl.com/yc5chesw

More tick-borne illnesses showing up in Canada: a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) likely acquired at Emma Lake, SK. RMSF has also been found in dogs in southern ON & in a person in QC who may have caught it in ON. tinyurl.com/ybuefba2 by Alex Kozroski.

COVID cases are beginning to rise in Canada. While rates remain lower than at this time in recent years, they are still trending upward. Health Canada has also just approved a new COVID vaccine for the fall rollout, targeting LP.8.1 (a sublineage of Omicron). 🇨🇦

It looks like a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) was identified in Quebec. This was recently also seen in dogs in Long Point, ON. RMSF is an uncommon but very serious tick-borne infection. Doxycycline is the treatment of choice.

This summer’s COVID test positivity rate (blue) is lower than the same time in the past two summers (red, yellow).

A quick note: My name and image are being used without permission in social media ads promoting products I do not endorse. I am working with social media platforms and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to have these ads removed. I hope you’re all having a relaxing summer. Cheers,

“Raw milk has been promoted by online wellness influencers and raw food advocates, boosting sales in recent years, but public health officials say it can be risky.” www.cbsnews.com/news/florida...

Canada’s first human West Nile case of the year was just reported in Toronto. Most have no symptoms, some get a fever, and rarely it manifests as a serious neurological illness. Time for the bug spray. Link: tinyurl.com/yjf23nd6 by Nicole Ireland

'tis the season. First identification of West Nile Virus in Toronto mosquitoes this year. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Ontario is now seeing a sharp drop in measles cases, with the trend beginning in early May.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) has been reported in dogs in Long Point, Ontario. RMSF is transmitted through tick bites, so humans are also at risk. This infection can be severe. Take care to protect yourself & your pets from ticks. Info from 🇨🇦 @PHAC_GC: tinyurl.com/yc2ev4h2