'Inspires a sense of adventure': Sask. man conquers Mount Everest
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.
There were 171,153 cases globally in 2022, according to Dr. Patrick O’Connor of the World Health Organization, who presented the research Saturday at the ESCMID Global Congress in Barcelona. Provisional data shows 321,582 cases for 2023 and more than 94,000 so far in 2024, although the number is probably much higher.
Almost half of this year’s cases have been in WHO’s European Region, with the highest incidence in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen.
The U.S. has had 128 measles cases reported in 20 jurisdictions this year, as of Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest number since 2019.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, “meaning there is no measles spreading within the country and new cases are only found when someone contracts measles abroad and returns,” the CDC says. However, the rapid rise in cases this year poses a threat to that disease elimination status, the agency says.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. It can cause serious health consequences or death, especially for young and unvaccinated children.
General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the CDC. About 1 in every 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia, and others may develop a dangerous swelling in the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles may die from respiratory and neurologic complications.
It can also lead to “immune amnesia,” a condition that raises people’s risk of other infections for weeks to years.
O’Connor said Saturday that measles vaccination has prevented an estimated 57 million deaths between 2000 and 2022.
In the U.S., the CDC recommends that children get the first dose of the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) between 12 and 15 months of age. Kids get a second shot between four-and-six years of age.
The vaccine is considered highly effective. One dose is 93-per-cent effective against measles, and two doses are 97-per-cent effective. Vaccinated people can still get sick, but it doesn’t happen often, and typically, it’s a milder infection.
The U.S. has set a target vaccination rate of 95 per cent, but coverage among kindergarteners has dipped below that in recent years. In the 2022-23 school year, just 93.1 per cent of kindergarteners in the U.S. had completed their MMR vaccine series, leaving about 250,000 at risk.
Measles is “a crisis among many crises,” O’Connor said in his presentation Saturday, with about 45 per cent of outbreaks in conflict-affected and fragile countries.
“Over the last 20 years, there has been significant progress toward achieving measles and rubella elimination,” he said in a news release. “In order to solidify and maintain those gains, we need to ensure high, uniform and equitable routine immunization coverage; and robust outreach and rapid outbreak response.”
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event. The family asked for privacy and that people honor Murray by being kind to one another.
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed as a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 fans who had already arrived for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.