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Heater-Cooler Advisory: Update

Following the FDA safety communication regarding possible Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with 3T Heater-Cooler Systems, PHSA is notifying potentially exposed patients and health care providers. The information below is also available on the PHSA website: Cardiac Services BC and BC’s cardiac centres are notifying potentially exposed patients and all health care providers of a rare infection associated with heater-cooler units used during cardiothoracic surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients are being encouraged to...

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VIHA job posting: Infection Control Practitioner

Island Health is seeking a passionate and experienced Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner in Port Alberni, BC Reporting to the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Manager, you work with various departments within Island Health to provide surveillance and consultation related to infectious disease prevention and control in acute care, residential facilities and community settings. Based at West Coast General Hospital, you will also travel to Tofino and other Island Health...

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Yellow fever: the 2016 outbreak that went almost unnoticed

The yellow fever outbreak in Africa this year came closer to being a disaster than is widely recognized, public health experts recently disclosed. The epidemic also revealed glaring weaknesses in the emergency vaccine supply pipeline. Ultimately, the yellow fever outbreak was halted only by a huge vaccination campaign that stretched supplies by diluting doses, and even that succeeded only because some unusual donors stepped in. Brazil contributed 18 million doses of yellow...

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Development of universal flu shot: two articles

Canadian researchers developing one-time flu vaccine from CTVNews.ca: Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. are developing a flu vaccine that would be administered only once, eliminating the need for the annual shot. Dr. Matthew Miller, an assistant professor of biochemistry at McMaster, is part of the team of researchers developing the universal vaccine. The basis of its success, he said, is that it targets an unchanging part of the flu virus. “The...

Mapping the human epigenome

The following news release was issued by PHSA on November 17, 2016.  BC scientists play major role in international effort to map the human epigenome Vancouver – BC scientists and their colleagues from across the globe have made a major leap forward in understanding how the human body’s trillions of cells develop from a single genetic template, and how those genes interact with the environment. By mapping the epigenome (a series of...

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Joanne Archer receives Excellence in Nursing Education award from ARNBC

Joanne Archer, PICNet’s Education and Practice Coordinator, is the recipient of the Excellence in Nursing Education Award for 2016 from the Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (ARNBC). From the ARNBC website: Joanne is currently the Education and Practice Coordinator for the Provincial Infection Control Network for BC (PICNet). She has integrated all the accumulated knowledge, skills and judgement from her nursing positions and uses them in her current role to...

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BC reduces antibiotic use: BCCDC article in BCMJ

The BC Centre for Disease Control issued the following news release on November 15, 2016: BC reduces antibiotic use, but still more to be done The rate of antibiotic prescribing in British Columbia fell 15 per cent between 2005 and 2014, according to a new analysis conducted by the BC Centre for Disease Control. “We’re seeing some good progress when it comes to reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescription in the community, which not only saves the...

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