CBC Health News

Scientists say they hope testing wastewater for pathogens, which gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C., continues and helps better inform the public of emerging threats going forward.

Confirmed cases of measles in the Edmonton region have public health officials issuing a warning about the potential risk of exposure. As of Tuesday, a total of 13 cases have been confirmed in the province, including two in the Edmonton zone.

A little over five years ago, a sense of panic was spreading within British Columbia's public health system as it tracked the spread of a new virus: what would later be known as COVID-19. Now, the BCCDC is reflecting on the lessons it learned and remaining vigilant to be prepared for any future virus outbreak.

Experts say the case of a Nova Scotia woman who had to track down her cancer diagnosis underscores that the province still has work to do to ensure better co-ordination within the health-care system, with the well-being of the patients it serves at stake.

Documents obtained by CBC News show that a private medical testing company contracted by the Alberta government became insolvent and requested an additional $70 million in funding, which was denied. DynaLife's owners soon asked the province to buy the company, which it ultimately did at a cost of almost $100 million.

For decades, millions of men around the world have turned to a drug — finasteride, or Propecia, its most well-known brand name — to slow hair loss. But an increasing number of experts are sounding the alarm that this medication can cause rare but serious side-effects, which can persist after stopping treatment.

Health experts say that decades of research support taking creatine to increase musculoskeletal strength and performance. More recent research suggests creatine supplements might have cognitive benefits, too. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits, risks and how to use creatine safely.

More than a dozen people attended a demonstration at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturday to ask the government for more funding and treatment for those dealing with long COVID.

Confirmed cases of measles in Airdrie and Fort Vermilion come as an outbreak is currently seen in Ontario, and after vaccination rates in Alberta have declined.

Five years ago Saturday, Nova Scotia announced its first COVID-19 cases. Former premier Stephen McNeil and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang reflect on how the province responded to the pandemic, and what they might have done differently.

While a national organization seeks to track cases of forced sterilization of Indigenous peoples across Canada, Inuit women in the North say the practice hasn't ended. Three women shared their stories with us.

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, its effects live on and continue to have an impact on the health of Canadians. Here's a look back at some of them, including the effectiveness of emergency measures, long-term care deaths, the increasing distrust in public health, mRNA vaccine development and how we're preparing for the next pandemic.

It may seem counterintuitive, but hospital emergency rooms can be hazardous to the health of elderly patients. The chaotic environment can cause delirium and deconditioning to set in fast, and some patients never leave the hospital again. An innovative team at St. Mary's Hospital in Montreal is helping to prevent that from happening.

In its statement of defence, the health authority says former CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos was terminated because of her 'own inadequacies' in performing her job.

In response to an Ontario-wide measles outbreak, with many cases near Brantford, Grand Erie, Hamilton and other public health units have expanded vaccinations to include infants as young as six months. 

The province's chief medical officer of health is urging Ontarians to make sure they are immunized against the measles amid the most severe outbreak in the province in more than a decade.

More Alberta seniors are now eligible for provincially funded RSV vaccines. All Albertans 70 and over are now eligible.

An advocate for New Brunswickers suffering from unexplained neurological symptoms says a letter obtained by CBC News suggests Health Minister Dr. John Dornan wasn't truthful about his role in the removal of a Moncton neurologist from his post at the clinic treating many of the patients.

Five years on, Toronto-area doctors and public health officials are looking back at what they've learned since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and most agree the early experience will prove useful if the city faces another infectious disease crisis.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is alleging the former CEO of Alberta Health Services was unwilling to implement the government’s plan to break up the health authority, and made “incendiary and inaccurate allegations about political intrigue and impropriety” before she was fired in January.