'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Children who live with cats or dogs during fetal development and early infancy may be less likely than other kids to develop food allergies, according to a new study.
The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, analyzed data from over 65,000 children from Japan. It found that children exposed to cats or indoor dogs had a 13 per cent to 16 per cent lower risk of all food allergies compared with babies in pet-free homes.
"Our findings suggest that exposure to dogs and cats might be beneficial against the development of certain food allergies, thereby alleviating concerns about pet keeping and reducing the burden of food allergies," the authors wrote.
The study found that children exposed to cats were less likely to develop egg, wheat and soybean allergies, while those exposed to dogs were less likely to have egg, milk and nut allergies.
Although there was no association between turtles and birds and food allergies, hamster exposure during fetal development was linked with nearly twice the risk of nut allergies. The authors speculate that nuts that hamsters consume may sensitize infants through physical contact or house dust.
The exact mechanism remains unclear, but experts say pet exposure may strengthen an infant's gut microbiome, either directly or indirectly though changes in the parent's or home microbiome.
"We know from a lot of studies that the microbiome -- which are the bacteria that live within us, thousands and millions of them inside everybody's gut -- affect our immune responses and our immune system, particularly whether we develop allergies or not," said Dr. Amal Assa'ad, director of the Food Allergy Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, who was not involved with the new research.
Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, says dirt and other materials secreted by pets could be a good thing.
"It is critical to have these exposures early on as the immune system is developing, as the gut is developing, because it does seem to be an important route for sensitization," said Bernstein, who was not involved with the study.
Previous research has had mixed results. Some have linked pet exposure to decreased risk of food allergy, but others have found no association.
"The data is all over the place," Assa'ad said.
Although the researchers on the new study accounted for several factors that could influence the participant's risk of food allergy -- including mother's age, history of allergic disease, smoking status and place of residence -- they say it's possible that other factors influenced the results.
Additionally, food allergy data was self-reported, which relies on accurate diagnosis from participants, the researchers say.
"There's a need to really confirm these types of studies," Bernstein said. "So I wouldn't necessarily change lifestyles based on this data, but I wouldn't certainly get rid of pets in the home."
Experts hope these results can help guide research into the drivers behind childhood food allergies and reassure pet owners.
"If you're thinking about having an animal and you're concerned because you have allergies ... there may be an added benefit to having an animal, not just in terms of what it does for families and people's general love of pets, but also, it could be potentially protective if there's an early life exposure," Bernstein said.
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.