First human case of West Nile virus this year confirmed in Toronto, PHAC says
The confirmation comes after Toronto Public Health said its first laboratory-confirmed case of the virus in 2025 is an adult resident of the city with no travel history.
The virus is transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes.
PHAC's West Nile surveillance report says that as of July 12, two other Canadian residents were infected this year while travelling outside of the country.
Its surveillance map shows West Nile detections in two mosquito pools in Ontario and one in Manitoba as of that date.
Toronto Public Health says symptoms usually begin between two to 14 days after a mosquito bite and can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, body aches, skin rash, swollen lymph glands or a stiff neck.
It says older adults and people with compromised immune systems are at higher risk of severe illness.
People can prevent infection by avoiding mosquito bites – wear light-coloured long sleeves and long pants, use Health Canada-approved insect repellent, put tight-fitting screens on all windows and get rid of standing water in buckets, planters, pool covers and other containers to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds.
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Cision Canada
23 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
Public advisory - Unauthorized injectable peptide drugs seized and sold by Canada Peptide may pose serious health risks Français
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Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sunshine House mobile drug site in limbo after RV totalled
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
He beat cancer twice. Now he wants to swim across Lake Winnipeg
Jonathon Fenton looks out at Lake Winnipeg on August 1, 2025. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg) An Alberta man plans to swim across Lake Winnipeg to raise funds for cancer research—research he says has saved his life twice. Jonathon Fenton, 61, is planning to swim from Grand Beach to Gimli—a 26-kilometre swim expected to take him about 10 hours. It's all part of a fundraiser he is calling 'Jonny's Big Swim'. 'I'm doing it to celebrate five and a half years after my stem cell transplant, the second time I had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma,' Fenton told CTV News. Jonathon Fenton Jonathon Fenton is seen in hospital while battling cancer. (Jonathon Fenton) It was 1999 when Fenton's doctor discovered a tumour the size of a football. 'My only experience with cancer up until then was my mom dying of it when I was 10 years old. So the immediate thought is, 'Oh, you have cancer. Okay, I'm out,'' he said. 'You think you're done, but you're not.' After chemotherapy, Fenton lived cancer-free for 20 years. Then in 2019, Fenton discovered another tumour, launching him into another battle for his life. He won that battle too. 'It wouldn't have happened without the research. So I think you just got to keep going. Go for the next breakthrough,' he said. So far Fenton, who was born and raised in Manitoba, has raised about $22,000 for CancerCare Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. 'They all played a part in the double cancer journey,' he said. Jonathon Fenton Jonathon Fenton, 61, speaks with CTV Winnipeg about his plan to swim from Grand Beach to Gimli to raise money for cancer research. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg) But why swim across Lake Winnipeg? Fenton said he got the idea while watching a movie on Diana Nyad, a woman who at the age of 64 successfully swam 180 kilometres from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. 'It just sort of hit me like a bolt. I could do that across Lake Winnipeg. It's only 26 (kilometres). There's no sharks, there's no jellyfish, no man-o'war, no shipping channel or a shipping lane. How hard could that be?' After a year of training, Fenton plans to begin his swim on Saturday as long as the weather cooperates. He hopes his story will encourage others who are going through the same fight he did. 'I just want to show them, if an old geezer can get into the lake—I don't know if I'm going to make it, but at least I'll try—after two bouts of it, you know, for someone in their 20s, 30s, younger than me, maybe I'll be okay.' More details about Fenton's swim and fundraiser can be found on the Jonny's Big Swim website.
