Emerging respiratory-borne viruses update from BCCDC
Below is an update from BCCDC on emerging respiratory-borne viruses (ERV), including details related to: Increase in MERS-CoV cases in September and October 2014 primarily in Saudi Arabia and linked to camel contact. Subsequent amplification through human-to-human spread within the nosocomial setting is reminiscent of SARS. Also in October, a travel-related MERS-CoV case has been reported for the first time in Turkey. Several Hajj-associated suspect cases are under investigation elsewhere but...
Ebola information for health professionals
Current information for health professionals on Ebola virus disease (EVD) can be found on the BCCDC website, which includes a link to the Ebola Clinical Care Guidelines developed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada, Canadian Critical Care Society. PICNet is currently working with a provincial committee on provincial recommendations for Personal Protective Equipment; until these recommendations are released, please follow your facility's...
Enterovirus D68 Update
The BC Centre for Disease Control has has confirmed that a young man with a prior history of severe asthma has died with laboratory-confirmed enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection . It is uncertain whether EV-D68 caused or contributed to this death. This is the first known death associated with EV-D68 in Canada. You can read more on the BCCDC's D68 web page. Advice for healthcare workers Clinicians should consider EV-D68 infections in children...
Ebola information for healthcare professionals in BC
Healthcare professionals in BC Health care professionals are advised to be vigilant for illness compatible with EVD in travellers returning from outbreak-affected areas. Basic screening questions include 1) travel to an EVD outbreak-affected area and 2) fever. Consider immediate isolation pending diagnostic testing and results. Strict infection control practices (routine and contact precautions) should be implemented for any suspected case. Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, the most infectious being blood, vomitus and feces, or with contaminated...