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Rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have spiked all across Canada. That includes Prairie Mountain Health, which covers the entire Parkland.
Back in 2014, confirmed cases of chlamydia came in at 600. In 2018, there were 740 confirmed cases of the STI. Confirmed gonorrhea cases also saw a giant spike. There were 70 confirmed cases in 2014, compared to 200 in 2018.
Cases of syphilis were perhaps the most shocking. There were only three confirmed back in 2014. In 2018, that number was 10 times that amount. 30 cases were confirmed in 2018.
"We also think the number is higher in Prairie Mountain Health, but some people don't experience any symptoms so they don't get checked," said Dr. Mahmoud Khodaveisi, Medical Officer of Health with Prairie Mountain Health.
Across Canada back in 2006, there were 69,336 confirmed cases of chlamydia. That jumped to 126,785 in 2017. Confirmed gonorrhea cases also saw a significant spike in the same time period. They went from 11,299 back in 2006 to 28,385 in 2017.
Confirmed syphilis cases jumped to 4,327 from 3,381 over the same period.
When it comes to why confirmed cases are skyrocketing, Khodaveisi knows exactly why.
"Risky sexual behaviour such as sex with anonymous people," he added. "Also unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners and sex under the influence of alcohol and drugs. I think these are the main reasons why we're seeing an increase."
Symptoms:
Chlamydia: Pain or burning while peeing, pain during sex, lower belly pain, abnormal vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods, pus or a watery/milky discharge from the penis, and swollen or tender testicles.
Gonorrhea in men: Greater frequency or urgency of urination, a pus-like discharge (or drip) from the penis (white, yellow, beige, or greenish), swelling or pain in the testicles, and a persistent sore throat.
Gonorrhea in women: Increased vaginal discharge, painful urination, vaginal bleeding between periods, such as after vaginal intercourse, painful intercourse, and abdominal or pelvic pain.
Syphilis: A non-itchy rash that starts on the trunk and spreads to the entire body, including the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, oral, anal, and genital wart-like sores, muscle aches, fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, patchy hair loss, and headaches.
"If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention as soon as you can," added Khodaveisi.
To make sure you don't contract any of these STI's, Khodaveisi has some tips.
"Avoid sex with anyone who has genital sore or a rash or any other symptoms," he added. "Avoid alcohol and drug use that may lead to having risky sexual behaviour. Consistently use condoms during sex, that's a big one."
All of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are treatable.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
A Parkland artist is making her mark in the province.
Val Vint from Winnipegosis is one of three artists whose works have been chosen to be installed at The Forks in Winnipeg.
Vint’s contribution is a piece called “Education is the new Bison”. The installation features a 20-foot-tall Bison constructed of replicas of books and videos that Vint hopes will help usher in a real understanding of what reconciliation means.
“I think it’ll be a good resource for anybody who wants to learn the real history, and once the real history is known, then people will have a different view and probably be helpful in changing this broken path into something positive,” said Vint. “I wanted this to be a positive way of talking about things, about introducing things, this is a gentler, kinder way to get through to making a change”.
“Education is the new Bison” will be unveiled in the spring of 2020.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
With a hot and sunny long weekend ahead of us, lots of people will be out on the water in their boats.
Dr Christopher Love with the Life Saving Society of Manitoba says the RCMP will be too.
“They are going to be doing more enforcement patrols with their various mobile units that they have. They will be enforcing the boating laws which are basically the same as driving laws.”
Keep in mind you can be charged with impaired operation of a watercraft, even if your watercraft doesn`t have a motor. Anyone charged will not only lose their boating license, but they can lose their regular driving privileges.
Love, with the Lifesaving Society of Manitoba, says on average there are 100-125 deaths from boating every year in Canada.
“About 25 to 35 per cent every year of those cases are involving intoxicants when we talk nationally. Here in Manitoba, we buck that national trend. We’ve been around, this year it’s 23 per cent higher than the national average, there's been double the national average and we want to avoid that. It’s not a good title to have to be above the national average when it comes to intoxication-related boating fatalities.”
With that in mind, police officers will step up spot checks for alcohol and booze on boats over this long weekend.
If you`re caught boating while impaired, you`ll lose your boating license, and normal driving privileges as well. Impaired boating also covers any watercraft that doesn`t have a motor, such as a canoe.
The increased checks are part of Operation Dry Water, coordinated by the Canadian Safe Boating Council, and the Lifesaving Society of Manitoba. Operation Dry Water is a campaign meant to raise awareness of the issue of intoxicated boating to bring down the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths from intoxicated boating.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Children’s care at the Dauphin Hospital has received a boost from the Dauphin and District Shrine Club.
Close to $6,000 has been donated to help purchase a Broselow Pediatric Emergency Cart and the related support equipment. The Broselow Cart is a colour-coded system for children up to the age of 12 that allows for quick access to correct sizes of medical equipment in the event of an emergency.
A representative from the Khartum Temple Shrine Club, Dave Yeo, says one of their main objectives is to fundraise for initiatives, projects or equipment that supports children and their families within the Parkland region. He adds that the local Shriners have made contributions over the past few years to benefit other health care facilities within Prairie Mountain Health region including Grandview and Ste. Rose.
The shrine club raises money throughout the year with raffle ticket sales, Christmas cake sales, and recycling drink cans.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The United States announced yesterday they’re planning on allowing Americans to bring prescription drugs from Canada across the border.
Barret Procyshyn, a pharmacist at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy, isn’t a fan of the announcement.
“This is terrible for Canadians because there’s already a drug shortage in Canada and having Americans tap into our prescriptions supply could be devastating.”
Procyshyn doesn’t think Americans will come to Dauphin too much, but he does think Americans will come to Manitoba and the rest of the country.
He says it will create shortages at their wholesaler, which will raise costs for Manitobans because pharmacies will have to buy straight from the name-brand medication.
Procyshyn notes this wouldn’t be sustainable for Canadians.
“The US market is 10 times Canada’s size if not more than that. We cannot supply the US with the medications that they need. Everyone has to understand Canada is not the United States’ pharmacy. We just can’t do it, we don’t have the supply to do it, and right now we don’t even have the supply to take care of Canadians, never mind Americans coming across the border and accessing our supply. It’s going to put a ton of pressure on the system and you’re going to see consequences in Canada if this does occur.”
With the weaker Canadian dollar, this makes it cheaper for Americans.
Tune in at 12:40 for the full interview Isaac Wihak did with Barret Procyshyn.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The search for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod continues in Northern Manitoba.
As we approach day 10 of the manhunt, fatigue becomes a factor, said a former Mountie from BC.
"I think fatigue is definitely the biggest thing right now," said Kim Watt-Senner. "When you're trying to find people in tough terrain as they are, it makes for a very tough and frustrating search."
"I believe the RCMP is waiting for public input and they're just regrouping by going back to Gilliam," she added.
Although the Canadian military has left the hunt, that doesn't the aggressive hunt stops.
"With frustration setting in, I think the search is getting even more aggressive," added Watt-Senner. "The RCMP is doing the best they can to contain the suspects. At some point, they will be apprehended if they're still alive."
"I think everyone Canadian is interested in what's going to happen with this," said Watt-Senner. "Everyone just wants this to end."
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The recent Capital One data breach has affected about six million Canadians. The hacker accessed personal information of Capital One customers and people who applied for Capital One credit cards.
The person responsible for the hack has since been arrested.
With the recent data breach, Trent Hutsal, the Director of Information Technology with Fusion Credit Union has some tips to help to make your banking information more secure.
Hutsal says that identity thieves are looking for information like your full name, date of birth, Social Insurance Number, your address, and your mother’s maiden name. He suggests not ever sharing that information with anyone you may not know, especially on social media.
Hutsal adds that everyone should pay close attention to their monthly credit card and bank account statements for unexpected charges and payments.
If you feel you have been the victim of identity theft, Hutsal says the first step is to call your local police service and file a report. Then contact your bank or financial institution, and your credit card company. The next step would be to contact the two national credit bureaus, Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, and place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Then finally the last step would be to report identity theft and fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
A useful way to prevent identity fraud is to not share any key information with anyone, even close family and friends, and change your usernames and passwords regularly.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The City of Dauphin is reminding residents that property taxes are due and payable in full today.
They must be submitted by 4:30.
Late penalties of 15 per cent will be charged for any amounts that remain unpaid.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Update:
The hydro outage has ended just after 11.
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This morning’s storm has caused hydro outages for 600 customers in Swan River.
Westman Communications also says they don’t have service in Swan River and Minitonas and are working to restore internet to their customers.
The west and southwest sides of Swan River are the affected areas.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
UPDATE: The severe thunderstorm watch has ended as of 9:24 this morning (Wednesday).
Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for much of the Parkland.
The watch includes Dauphin; Gilbert Plains; Grandview; Winnipegosis; Fork River; Ethelbert; Roblin; Russell-Binscarth; and the Rural Municipalities of Dauphin; Lakeshore; and Riding Mountain West.
Conditions are favourable for thunderstorms that could bring strong winds, torrential rain, and large hail this morning and afternoon.
Find the full details here.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The 54th edition of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival starts tomorrow afternoon when the gates open at 1.
The weekend will feature 5 grandstand shows featuring acts like the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble, Double the Trouble, Canada’s National Riding and Dancing Cossacks & Company and Marina Krut.
Following the Saturday night grandstand show, there will be fireworks to cap off the night.
Sunday will feature tons of local acts and a perogy eating contest.
Tickets will be available at the gate which opens Thursday at 1 pm.
For a full schedule of events, check out the CNUF website.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
