Sask. school posts science teacher job saying degree, accreditation ‘not necessary'
Elevation Academy, a private Christian school in Prince Albert, has removed this Facebook post advertising a science teacher position. (Source: Facebook)
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Tick-borne disease is spreading into new parts of Canada. Here's where you're at risk
Here's everything you need to know about ticks, including ways to protect both you and your pets. Here's everything you need to know about ticks, including ways to protect both you and your pets. Should you be worried about ticks this spring? As the weather gets warmer, public health experts are warning about the risk of tick-borne illnesses like lyme disease -- a problem that's spreading to new parts of the country. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has identified thousands of postal codes across more than 1,100 municipalities it considers 'risk areas' for exposure to lyme. As of the current list, high-risk areas are concentrated in communities along the U.S. border, as well as in major population centres. In Western Canada, risk areas are concentrated on Vancouver Island, the coastal areas of B.C.'s Lower Mainland and river valleys across that province's south, as well as nearly all of Manitoba from the north shore of Lake Winnipeg to the U.S. border. Further east, much of southern Ontario's Great Lakes coasts, including the entirety of the Greater Toronto Area, are within areas considered high risk by the agency. A corridor of risk areas also exists along the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic coast, including Kingston, Ont., Ottawa and Montreal. And in Atlantic Canada, nearly all of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton Island, are known to be habitats for blacklegged ticks. Blacklegged tick This undated photo provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a blacklegged tick, which is also known as a deer tick. (CDC via AP, File) Virginie Millien is an associate professor of biology at McGill University who studies the effects of climate change on wildlife such as ticks and their hosts. 'Risk areas are growing,' Millien told by phone. 'It's not going to stop anytime soon because it's really driven by climate warming.' Millien has been tracking the emergence of Lyme disease in Quebec for over a decade 'The risk is present for people, not just whenever they go far in the woods in remote areas,' Millien cautioned. 'It's also present in some major cities now because there's large urban parks in these cities.' iFrames are not supported on this page. Informed by data from provincial and territorial authorities, risk areas are identified by the emergence of new tick populations, as well as human populations 'most at risk of lyme disease.' But PHAC is quick to note that even if you are not located in a high-risk postal code, it's important to remain vigilant. '[Ticks] can also spread by travelling on birds and deer. You can sometimes find blacklegged ticks in areas outside of where they're known to live,' the agency's lyme-disease monitoring page reads. 'Always take precautions against tick bites when you're in wooded or grassy areas.' Ticking upward PHAC notes that as climate change has increased temperatures across the country, the viable range for lyme-infected ticks has grown, increasing risks of exposure. 'Incidence continues to remain high due to factors such as greater human exposure to risk areas and to risk of infection,' reads a 2022 report on lyme-disease monitoring. Millien says ticks can be spread by other animals like mice, which are also expanding their range due to climate change. 'The tick needs to be able to survive the winter to become established in a region,' Millien explained. 'Winter conditions are going to determine whether the tick is going survive or not, and of course it's getting warmer, so they can survive each year in more northern localities.' 'It's going to get bigger and bigger' Lyme disease is a life-altering infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which can spread to humans via tick bites. There are more than 40 varieties of ticks in Canada, and many are known to carry lyme. The species that are of the biggest concern are the blacklegged tick in Eastern Canada and the western blacklegged tick in B.C. While early signs of the disease can be fairly mild, including fever, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and a bullseye-shaped rash near the location of the bite, later stages can cause severe headaches, arthritis, spreading pain throughout the muscles, bones and joints, difficulties with thinking and memory and facial paralysis, among other symptoms. First tracked nationally in 2009, reported cases of lyme disease have risen greatly in the past quarter-century, to more than 5,000 in last year's preliminary data from just a few hundred per year in the early 2010s. 'In Canada, there were only a handful of cases only a decade ago,' Millien said. 'It's not a linear relationship, it's exponential when a disease emerges. So it's going to get bigger and bigger, and in an exponential way. That's the expectation.' PHAC notes that cases are often underreported because they go undetected, possibly even to those infected with the disease. Case counts can vary annually due to underlying weather, trends in outdoor activity among humans and prevention efforts by public health authorities, they say. Anyone who develops symptoms after a tick bite, or does after visiting a high-risk area for tick-borne lyme, is advised to contact their heath-care provider. Treatment with antibiotics is most effective soon after exposure, posing the best chance of recovery, though symptoms may persist after treatment is complete, PHAC says. How to remove a tick George Chaconas is a professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine who studies the bacteria that causes lyme disease. 'If you're in an area known to have ticks, protect yourself,' he told by phone. 'Wear light-coloured clothing, so if you pick up a tick, you can see it. Tuck your pants into your socks. You may look a little bit funny, but if you do that, if a tick gets on your foot and crawls upwards, which is what they do, it's not going to get under your pants and crawl up to your groin or somewhere else.' Tick Twister Removing a tick with ether and a tick removal device. (Photo By BSIP / Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Insect repellants can also help. If bitten, Chaconas says it's important to quickly but carefully remove a tick by the head without squeezing its body. You can then upload a picture of a tick to to have it identified. 'If it's been less than 24 hours, then chances of picking up Lyme disease are very low because Lyme is usually not transmitted until 24 to 48 hours after the tick bite,' he added. 'If it's been on for longer than that, you can also usually tell by what the tick looks like. If it's big and fat and full of blood, then it's been there for a while.' Related:
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Researchers urge caution when using ChatGPT to self-diagnose illnesses
Researchers examined the use of ChatGPT-4 to self-diagnose health problems. As Canadians increasingly turn to artificial intelligence for quick answers about health problems, a new study warns relying on tools like ChatGPT for self-diagnosis could be risky. A team, led by researchers at the University of Waterloo, evaluated the performance of ChatGPT-4, a large language model (LLM) released by OpenAI. The chatbot was asked a series of open-ended medical questions based on scenarios modified from a medical licensing exam. The findings were striking. Only 31 per cent of ChatGPT's responses were deemed entirely correct, and just 34 per cent were considered clear. Troy Zada Sirisha Rambhatla PhD student Troy Zada and Dr. Sirisha Rambhatla at the University of Waterloo are part of the research team. 'So, not that high,' said Troy Zada, a PhD student at the University of Waterloo who led the research team. 'If it is telling you that this is the right answer, even though it's wrong, that's a big problem, right?'' The researchers compared ChatGPT-4 with its earlier 3.5 version and found significant improvements, but not enough. In one example, the chatbot confidently diagnosed a patient's rash as a reaction to laundry detergent. In reality, it was caused by latex gloves — a key detail missed by the AI, which had been told the patient studied mortuary science and used gloves. The researchers concluded that LLMs are not yet reliable enough to replace medical professionals and should be used with caution when it comes to health matters. This is despite studies that have found AI chatbots can best human doctors in certain situations and pass medical exams involving multiple choice questions. Zada said he's not suggesting people stop using ChatGPT for medical information, but they must be aware of its limitations and potential for misinformation. 'It could tell you everything is fine when there's actually a serious underlying issue,' said Zada. He says it could also offer up information that would make someone needlessly worry. Millions of Canadians currently do not have a family doctor and there are concerns some may be relying on artificial intelligence to diagnose health problems, even though AI chatbots often advise users to consult an actual doctor. The researchers also noted the chatbots lack accountability, whereas a human doctor can face severe consequences for errors, such as having their licence revoked or being charged with medical malpractice. While the researchers note ChatGPT did not get any of the answers spectacularly wrong, they have some simple advice. 'When you do get a response be sure to validate that response,' said Zada. Dr. Amrit Kirpalani agrees. He's a pediatric nephrologist and assistant professor at Western University who has studied AI in medicine and has noticed more patients and their family members bringing up AI platforms such as ChatGPT. He believes doctors should initiate conversations about its use with patients because some may be hesitant to talk about it. 'Nobody wants to tell their doctor that they went on ChatGPT and it told them something different,' says Kirpalani. He'd prefer patients discuss a chatbot's response with a physician, especially since an AI can sometimes be even more persuasive than a human. 'I'm not sure I could be as convincing as an AI tool. They can explain some things in a much more simple and understandable way,' says Kirpalani. 'But the accuracy isn't always there. So it could be so convincing even when it's wrong.' He likens AI to another familiar online tool. 'I kind of use the Wikipedia analogy of, it can be a great source of information, but it shouldn't be your primary source. It can be a jumping-off point.' The researchers also acknowledge as LLMs continue to improve, they could eventually be reliably used in a medical setting. But for now, Zada has this to say: 'Don't blindly accept the results.'
