Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Adults over 50 who have had COVID-19 are more likely to experience a shingles outbreak, according to new research.
A study published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases last month looked at data from 400,000 people who had been infected with COVID-19 and 1.6 million who had not. It found adults over 50 who have had COVID-19 are 15 per cent more likely to develop shingles within six months. The risk grows to 21 per cent for those who have been hospitalized with COVID-19.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection characterized by painful blisters that usually appear on one side of the torso. An infection can take as long as five weeks to clear up.
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the strain of herpes which causes chickenpox. After someone has had chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in the body for decades before reactivating to cause shingles, explained Dr. Kashif Pirzada, a Toronto-based emergency physician.
"It never fully leaves your body. Your immune system is keeping it in check like a tug-of-war," Pirzada told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday. "If you have a big shock to your immune system like a COVID infection, or if you're not sleeping, you're not eating well...then it could flare up and cause shingles."
In rare cases, the varicella zoster virus can also cause a neurological disorder known as Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. This is a form of facial paralysis that can occur when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of the ears. Pirzada said its effects can be devastating. Earlier this month, a diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome forced Justin Bieber to cancel a string of tour dates.
"It affects your balance, your hearing, your taste, the movements of your face, even closing your eyes," Pirzada. "And the recovery is long. If you start antivirals early, you can have a better course. But the recovery can take months, even a couple years."
Right now, Pirzada said, the best defence against shingles for people who have already had chicken pox is the shingles vaccine.
While the chicken pox vaccine has been available to children in Canada since the year 2000, the shingles vaccine is currently only recommended for adults over 50. Some provinces offer the vaccine at no cost to seniors, and advocates want to see the rest of the country follow suit.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is also considering recommending the vaccine for anyone 18 and older who is immunodeficient or immunocompromised.
As for claims circulating online that the COVID-19 vaccine causes shingles outbreaks, Pirzada said they're not true.
"You're going to win [Lotto] 649 a couple times before you get shingles from the vaccine," he said.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
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 British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.