Flu cases have more than doubled from last year in Windsor-Essex
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The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says reported cases of influenza in Windsor-Essex have more than doubled this year, compared to the previous one.
Calling it a "significant increase" across the region, officials are reminding the public that respiratory illness season is ongoing and asking people to protect themselves.
In a statement, WECHU said local hospitals are seeing a rise in people with the same respiratory symptoms — but that non-emergency concerns shouldn't be directed to emergency departments.
According to the health unit, getting vaccinated for the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the "best ways to prevent serious illness and avoid hospital visits."
"At Erie Shores HealthCare, we have taken proactive steps to manage the increased demand for care, including expanding our capacity by utilizing unconventional treatment spaces, utilizing the Mobile Medical Clinic on-site, and ensuring our health-care teams are equipped to respond efficiently," said CEO Kristin Kennedy.
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor says it's opened an additional 25 beds since last fall to help deal with the influx of people coming into their care with flu-like symptoms.
"I encourage everyone to practise good hygiene, consider wearing a mask while at the hospital, stay home if you are sick and try to limit the number of visitors if you or a family member is hospitalized," said HDGH president Bill Marra.
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CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Windsor man who overdosed in jail was denied opioid meds because he wasn't eligible: nurse
In the weeks leading up to his death, Joseph Gratton had asked medical staff at the local jail multiple times for drug tests and a medication that helps treat opioid addictions. But the Windsor father of two would never access the prescription drug, and on an October night nearly six years ago, he overdosed on fentanyl in his cell at the South West Detention Centre. A correctional officer found Gratton, 31 at the time, and his cell mate unconscious on the floor during a routine patrol. Despite several rounds of CPR and naloxone, Gratton was pronounced dead at the hospital just after midnight on Oct. 30, 2019. A legally mandated coroner's inquest into the circumstances around his death began Monday. Inquest counsel Julian Roy revealed that a nurse had denied Gratton a prescription for suboxone, which helps people with opioid addictions fight cravings and tame withdrawal symptoms, eight days before his death. On Tuesday, the jury heard directly from the nurse practitioner in question. Julie MacVoy, who no longer works at the facility, testified that she denied Gratton suboxone because he wasn't eligible for the drug, in part because he hadn't been formally diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. MacVoy said she also didn't see any clear signs of withdrawal — though she acknowledged that those symptoms might not be present if he was still using illicit drugs. She noted that he had a history of hoarding prescription medication as well, leading her to believe that he might misuse the suboxone — a drug that poses health risks if abused or prescribed to someone who doesn't need it. "He was known to do that," she said. A previous urine test had come back negative, too. Gratton, the inquest heard Tuesday, had been transferred back to Windsor from a jail in Niagara on Sept. 29. Soon after, he asked to see the nurse practitioner and for a "piss cup" — a urine drug sample. "The nurse sent my request a couple days ago," Gratton wrote on the Oct. 5 written request. "Whats the holdup." Two days later, Gratton filled out another request for a urine test, saying he had heroin in his system, was going through withdrawal, and needed suboxone. "Please and thanks. Soon as possible," he wrote. "Been asking for almost a week. Since I got shipped back." A note on the bottom of the request from an unidentified nurse indicates that the urine test was ordered on Oct. 8, more than a week after Gratton returned. MacVoy testified that urine tests typically can detect drugs in someone's system for three to five days after – and even up to seven days later in rarer cases. But by the time Gratton got tested, it had been roughly nine days. In his medical chart, MacVoy wrote that Gratton "took contraband while in Niagara" but that the urine drug test came back negative. Still, she noted that the test was "performed late." It's unclear why she didn't order another test. Even then, suboxone can still be used to curb addiction cravings in those who've been off opioids for a shorter amount of time, the inquest heard. But MacVoy also didn't know then that Gratton was referring to opioids when he said contraband, she said. She testified she didn't remember their interaction, and as the only nurse practitioner in the building at the time, saw 20 to 30 patients per day. She wouldn't have seen the written requests, either. But if he had told her what contraband he had been using, she would have marked it in his chart, she said. She said inmates can be reluctant to admit to active illicit drug use in jail because of the investigation it would automatically prompt. MacVoy said she believed "it wasn't very common for drugs to get into the jail" at the time — but that soon changed when the facility started "having some terrible outcomes." In any case, it was also rare then for an inmate to start opioid addiction medication after they'd already spent time within the jail. "It was virtually unheard of to revisit that later in custody," she said. "Generally it was frowned upon," she said, but couldn't specify why she felt that way. Those types of treatments typically started upon admission to the jail among those who had a history of drug abuse. Things, however, were starting to change during her tenure, she said, which is in part why she considered Gratton's request for suboxone in the first place. She also believes in harm reduction and working with patients to make informed decisions. Tuesday's witnesses also included a correctional officer who was assigned to Gratton's unit the night he overdosed. Randy Mascarin, now a staff sergeant, was present earlier in the night when another inmate was allowed to walk to Gratton's cell and pass something under the door — video of which was shown Tuesday. Mascarin said the man was let out of his shared cell to give privacy to the other inmate while a sergeant entered to handle a misconduct case. He said it's normal for inmates to pass each other things — a pack of unwanted peanut butter could make another inmate's day — so he didn't think anything of it at the time. He also shed light on why the key to open the cell was with him and not the officer actively patrolling the unit when Gratton was discovered at around 11 p.m. Mascarin said he had been performing the patrols before that, and that handing them over to the other officer before he went on break was simply "lost in process." He said that issue "really ate at" him "for a long time," but that he knows the facility has more safeguards in place now. On Wednesday, the inquest is expected to hear from the other correctional officer assigned to the unit that night, as well as a senior official within the provincial corrections system on the types of changes that have been implemented at the jail and other facilities in Ontario since Gratton's death. MacVoy, the jail's former nurse practioner, said they made some changes right away, though. "We didn't need an inquest," she said. "I do think inquests need to be a bit more timely," she said, noting the six year gap. Ultimately, she said she still feels her decision not to prescribe suboxone — now available in film and injection formats that are harder for inmates to divert — to Gratton was the right call at the time, because she lacked the evidence she needed. She also offered her condolences to Gratton's family. "You don't go into medicine to watch people get hurt or die," she said, her voice shaking. "We also don't have a crystal ball." Mascarin offered his condolences as well — specifically, to Gratton's mother, who is involved in the inquest. He said corrections officers might have a reputation for not caring about inmates, but that every person who responded that night wanted to save both Gratton and his cell mate's lives. "Joseph was a decent guy to me," he said.
Japan Forward
15 hours ago
- Japan Forward
AI Tool 'KIBIT': A Game Changer in New Drug Development
このページを 日本語 で読む The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world of the importance of drug discovery. However, modern drug discoveries require massive financial investment. Meanwhile, the use of artificial intelligence for AI drug discovery is gaining attention as a way to control soaring pharmaceutical prices. And a Japanese-made AI tool named 'KIBIT' is about to open up a new stage in this field. President Donald Trump issued executive orders in April and May mandating the reduction of domestic drug prices in the United States. Accompanying White House fact sheets refer to the high cost Americans pay for prescriptions, which is 2.78 times higher than the OECD average. Prescription costs are also 3.47 times higher than in Japan. Trump sees these high costs to consumers as a serious issue. In Japan, a national drug pricing system sets medication prices, enabling access to affordable treatments due to governmental oversight. In contrast, US pharmaceutical companies can set prices freely. This often results in higher charges than in other countries. Following his May 12 executive order, Trump stated that his orders would cut prices by 59% to as much as 90% to align with the levels of other countries. This could potentially result in significant revenue losses for the pharmaceutical industry. In the case of Japan, major pharmaceutical companies such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Astellas Pharma Inc earn over 30% of their revenue from the US. According to his comments, the President could impose additional tariffs on foreign-manufactured drugs if prices are not reduced. In the search for new drugs and treatments (Screenshot, ©FRONTEO Inc) One major reason for rising drug prices is the increasing cost of research and development. The average R&D spending by Japanese pharmaceutical companies rose from ¥30.2 billion JPY ($298.7 million USD) in 1993 to 163.3 billion ($1.13 billion) in 2019 — a 5.4-fold increase over 26 years. US companies saw an even sharper rise, from $841 million (¥121.1 billion) to $7.449 billion (¥1.0725 trillion). That marked an 8.8-fold increase. Moreover, investing in R&D doesn't guarantee success. The probability of developing a successful drug in Japan dropped from 1 in 13,000 two decades ago to 1 in 23,000 recently. Despite the increasing costs, results are scarce. Consequently, the R&D-to-revenue ratio rose from about 10% in 1993 to around 18% in 2019 in both countries. Introducing KIBIT. (Screenshot ©FRONTEO Inc) AI is being eyed as a solution to reduce R&D costs by dramatically cutting time and expenses. Drug development involves four stages: Basic research & target identification Compound optimization Preclinical trials and Clinical trials. Many AI vendors are involved in drug discovery. In particular, they focus on reducing costs in the third (preclinical) and fourth (clinical) stages. However, most companies have yet to tackle the critical first stage — target identification. Introducing KIBIT. (Screenshot, ©FRONTEO Inc) The first enterprise to address this initial stage is the Japanese company FRONTEO. Utilizing its proprietary natural language processing AI engine KIBIT, the company analyzes vast medical and pharmaceutical literature to generate innovative drug ideas that researchers may not have considered. Human thinking is inherently biased. The more experienced a researcher is, the more difficult it becomes to identify novel molecular targets. Stated another way, the bias of experience often blocks new ideas. KIBIT, however, is free from such biases. It identifies new molecular targets that might be effective against specific diseases. To do so, it analyzes vast amounts of academic literature. It can even derive specific hypotheses. Furthermore, KIBIT can identify and suggest highly disease-relevant target molecules that are not explicitly mentioned in the literature. This significantly enhances drug discovery potential. How KIBIT works. (Screenshot, ©FRONTEO Inc) Only a few countries have the capacity to develop new drugs. In 2024, among newly approved pharmaceuticals in Japan, the US, and Europe, the US led with 143 products. Japan followed with just 12, roughly equal to the United Kingdom's 10. According to the statistics "Nationalities of companies creating the top 100 drugs in the world by sales (2022),": United States – 52 United Kingdom – 10 Switzerland – 9 Germany – 8 Denmark – 8 Japan – 7 Most countries, other than the US, struggle to produce blockbuster drugs. In this context, hopes are high for FRONTEO's KIBIT. If it can consistently generate innovative new drugs efficiently, it may help deliver affordable medicines to those in need, without Mr Trump's intervention. FRONTEO's AI drug discovery service, utilizing KIBIT, is already being adopted by several major pharmaceutical companies. Those leveraging KIBIT to create new drugs could become game changers in the industry. This article is contributed by FRONTEO Inc, a supporting member of JAPAN Forward. (Read the report in Japanese.) Author: FRONTEO Inc. このページを 日本語 で読む
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
UWindsor receives funding by the province to provide RN prescribing course to undergrads
The University of Windsor seen in Windsor, Ont. on Jan. 30, 2025. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor) An exciting new opportunity for nursing students at the University of Windsor, thanks to a provincial grant. The Ontario government has invested $750,000 to support the inclusion of RN prescribing education into the undergraduate nursing curriculum at the University of Windsor. RN prescribing refers to the practice where registered nurses can prescribe medications and devices, and order certain tests, within their expanded scope of practice. This expansion will allow nurses to play a greater role in patient care and will make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to include RN prescribing in undergraduate programs. Students who complete this course would have it listed on their Ontario nursing license that they are qualified as an RN prescriber. Gina Pittman, Assistant Professor for the Faculty of Nursing at the University and co-lead for the RN Prescribing program, says this will provide students with more learning opportunities. 'The monies will be used to come up with innovative ways to have students do hands on experiences with writing prescriptions, navigating case scenarios in order to make an educated decision, some clinical reasoning about what to choose in terms of a therapeutic option for a patient,' said Pittman. She said she's hopeful students in the course will have co-op placements using this curriculum. 'To be able to get that real hands-on experience, right now we're able to do it through case scenarios. We use a lot of simulation which has been really great at bridging some of the gaps,' Pittman said. 'But I think ultimately in the future if we could do a lab, or a co-op hands on, that will really integrate their learning into the real-life experience.' Pittman said those who finish this course will have more career options. 'Right now the Hospital Act prohibits RN prescribing within the acute care setting, so I think students that come out armed with this authority, they are going have more career mobility, maybe they'll be able work in the community as a newer grad, whereas that's not the case for most new grads that come out without this capability, they're really limited to more of an acute care setting.' Pittman stated that this is a pilot project course. It is not a mandatory course for nursing students at the moment. She added that of the approximate 300 students in this program in the fall, that 200 of them have expressed interest in taking this course. This course will be offered in the fall of 2025 and the winter semester in 2026. Aside from the University of Windsor, Georgian College in Barrie and Humber Polytechnic in Toronto were the only other schools selected provincially to provide this curriculum. - Written by Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News.
