Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame

Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame

As It Happens6:32Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame As Cristiane Mazzetti flew over the Brazilian Amazon this month surveying wildfire damage, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Mazzetti is a forest campaigner for Greenpeace in Brazil. For years, the environmental group has been trying to curb the deforestation … Read more

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada

Tick experts are warning Canadians to be on the lookout for symptoms of a tick-borne disease whose case counts have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years. Anaplasmosis is an infection contracted by humans and animals caused by the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria and spread by ticks.  In the early 2000s, provinces and territories began reporting a handful … Read more

Lyme disease might be more common, but this tick-borne disease is on the rise in Canada

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada

Tick experts are warning Canadians to be on the lookout for symptoms of a tick-borne disease whose case counts have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years. Anaplasmosis is an infection contracted by humans and animals caused by the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria and spread by ticks.  In the early 2000s, provinces and territories began reporting a handful … Read more

Pharmaceuticals in our waterways affect wildlife. This researcher says it’s a big problem

Pharmaceuticals in our waterways affect wildlife. This researcher says it’s a big problem

The Current11:38How our discarded drugs are sparking sex changes in fish What do fish act like on anti-anxiety medication? According to Karen Kidd, “they get bolder” and don’t rely on their usual survival skills — and that’s part of a big problem. “Fish are swimming around in the soup of drugs … and a drug … Read more

Can a diet that’s good for the planet reduce your risk of dying from disease?

Can a diet that’s good for the planet reduce your risk of dying from disease?

A diet promoting plant-based protein to help the environment now has a more human argument: It may lower your risk of dying from several major diseases.  “It wasn’t just one cause of death. It was right across the board,” said Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public … Read more

Canadian farmers take precautions as bird flu outbreaks hit U.S. dairy cattle

Canadian farmers take precautions as bird flu outbreaks hit U.S. dairy cattle

The Dose19:04What’s going on with H5N1 bird flu? H5N1 is in the news again, and this time it has spread to cattle in several U.S. states. It has even infected a dairy worker in Texas. Global health epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan explains how avian flu is spreading, how transmissible it is, what vaccines are available, and … Read more

Now that bird flu is spreading among cows, scientists worry where H5N1 will jump next

Now that bird flu is spreading among cows, scientists worry where H5N1 will jump next

On March 25, American officials published an urgent announcement: Dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico were falling sick. The cows had low appetites, and produced less milk than normal. Some farms also discovered wild bird carcasses on their grounds. Tests on a cow throat swab and raw milk samples all confirmed an unusual finding: … Read more

Wildfires made Canada’s air quality worse than the U.S. for the first time

Wildfires made Canada’s air quality worse than the U.S. for the first time

Canada’s record-setting wildfire season hiked the country up global pollution rankings — and for the first time made its air quality worse than the U.S., according to a new report by air quality technology company IQAir. “In previous years, Canada had the cleanest air quality in all of North America,” said Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of … Read more

China says respiratory disease surge driven by mix of pathogens, calls to ‘minimise personnel movement and visits’

China says respiratory disease surge driven by mix of pathogens, calls to ‘minimise personnel movement and visits’

“Efforts should be made to implement effective epidemic prevention and control measures in key locations with dense populations, such as schools, childcare institutions and nursing homes,” Mi said. “This includes minimising personnel movement and visits.” Hospitals have also been told to improve their ability to grade patients according to the severity of infection, for better … Read more