Catching up today on some stories you might’ve missed. Here's a quick look at what stood out.
New data shows there was a 23 per cent increase in new HIV infections in Canada between 2022 and 2024. Experts say it's because Canada isn't meeting its targets.
The Highlights:
→ There was 2,517 new HIV infections in 2024, compared to 2,050 in 2022.
→ An international HIV strategy aims to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030.
→ The strategy asks countries to aim for 95 per cent of people with HIV to be diagnosed, on treatment and have a suppressed viral load.
→ Canada has only met one of these three goals.
Apotex Health Corp. sidelined two generic semaglutide competitors after problems at an Indian plant.
The Highlights:
→ Ozempic was the highest-selling drug in Canada last year with $2.9-billion in sales.
→ More than one million Canadians took semaglutide last year.
→ It could take until November for India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. to fix its manufacturing issues.
→ No supply of semaglutide sent to Canada came from the faulty batches at Dr. Reddy's.
Seniors struggling with loneliness and dementia can turn to AI for companionship as it offers an alternative for connection.
The Highlights:
→ ElliQ, an AI-companion robot, can initiate conversations with people when they are lonely.
→ The technology offers reminders to take medication, schedule social events and connect with friends and family.
→ AI technology has the potential to help those at risk for dementia.
→ Loneliness can impact longevity of life in the same way smoking 15 cigarettes a day can.
Health Canada is dropping the screening questions about sexual activity, which prevented gay and bisexual men from donating sperm.
The Highlights:
→ The news comes after a three-year-long legal challenge from a gay Toronto man.
→ Removing these questions ends an explicit ban on sperm donations from men who have sex with men.
→ All donors are rigorously tested, including physical examining and disease screening.
→ Donors are also tested for infectious diseases before and after a 180-day quarantine.
Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and Honos Health Ontario are launching a 150-bed addiction and mental health treatment centre — the first of its kind.
The Highlights:
→ The 150,000-square-foot facility will address the critical shortage of residential treatment options in Southwestern Ontario.
→ It aims to integrate Indigenous and Western healing practices and create substantial economic opportunities.
→ Honos Health leadership considers this as a blueprint for national expansion.
A new Canadian study found a minimally invasive technique for the world's the most common heart surgery — and it's just as safe as the standard procedure.
The Highlights:
→ Patients who did the less invasive procedure recovered faster than those who did the traditional one.
→The traditional procedure, which involves cutting open a patient's chest through their breastbone, has been used for almost 60 years.
→ The less invasive procedure makes a smaller scar, with a five-to seven-centimetre incision made on the side of the chest.
Pulse Check™
What else we're reading:
- Opinion: Canada underinvests in Black health, one window into broader policy bias 🔒
- Canada accelerates digital healthcare with AI, connected care, and virtual medicine
- Covid rage had subsided. Then Congress called Fauci to testify
- Years after the pandemic, MPs are divided on hybrid Parliament rules 🔒
- Michigan reports first U.S. deaths from multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak
Canada Healthwatch
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