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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 28, 2016 | 26 Chlamydia and flu cases on the rise in Halton in 2015 While the number of cases is low, it has still doubled, she said, noting Lyme disease is a Oakville Beaver Staff concern in Ontario. She asked Halton Region's Medical Officer Cases of the sexually-transmitted disease of Health (MOH) Dr. Hamidah Meghani what (STD) chlamydia continues to increase in was being done by staff to better communiHalton, according to a Halton Region Health cate with Halton doctors about the kinds of Department report discussed at Halton Retests that can be done to diagnose Lyme disgion's Health and Social Services Committee ease. meeting Tuesday (July 5). Meghani explained although there has The treatable disease, which can make it been a slight increase in the number of hudifficult for a woman to get pregnant if left man cases of Lyme disease that the Region has untreated, was the most frequently reported detected in Halton, the exposures were found infectious disease in 2015, with 916 cases to be outside of the region. compared to the 2010-2014 average of 799 "Halton is not an endemic site, not to say cases. that in the future we may see some ticks carrying Lyme in Halton," said the MOH, notTrend consistent with Ontario experience ing it may happen gradually due to climate The trend is consistent with the general Dr. Hamidah Meghani change. rise in chlamydia rates seen in Ontario over Meghani said the health department staff the past 10 years, however, incidences of "The age-standardized incident rate of chlamydia in Halton continue to be signifi- chlamydia increased in Halton by 38 per cent is actively informing physicians through the physician engagement strategy, that includes cantly below the provincial rate. between 2006 and 2015." The report states some of the increased rate There were 117 reported cases of gonor- sending email faxes about recent increases in may be attributed to improved screening and rhoea in Halton, compared to the previous testing methods, which have become more five-year annual average of 79 cases, the reaccurate. port continues. The second most frequently reported infecPublic Health Ontario continues to monitious disease in Halton was influenza, with a tor and investigate the provincial increase in reported 398 cases in 2015, compared to the gonorrhoea cases and is examining antibiotic Doing your part to help the environment has 2010-2014 average of 242. sensitivity and adherence to treatment and its rewards. Just ask Sheridan Public School, which was among the winners of the Febreze The report also highlights a hike in gon- testing guidelines, according to report. orrhoea, an STD that can cause very serious It's also evaluating Ontario's treatment Frenzy Contest, a national recycling contest sponsored by Febreze and run by TerraCycle, complications when not treated, but which guidelines. an eco-friendly recycling company. can be cured with the right medication. The Lancaster Drive elementary school won "While rates of influenza tend to fluctuate Lyme disease is on the rise in Ontario from year to year, depending on the sub-type During discussion on the report, Halton for being a top collector of traditionally nonor strain of the influenza viruses, and on vac- Hills Councillor Jane Fogal highlighted the recyclable air and home care waste such as trigcine match, rates of chlamydia and gonor- rise in cases of Lyme disease from 10 reported ger heads and spray bottles. It was one of 20 schools across Ontario and rhoea have been increasing more steadily in incidents in 2015 compared to the previous Quebec sharing a $5,000 prize. Each school recent years," the report details. five-year annual average of five. can make the cash donation to a chosen nonprofit, school or charity. The schools were participating in a collection-and-recycling program called the Air and an active Home Care Recycling Program, which enables any brand of air-freshener cartridge or homestarts here by Julia Le Health "Connected to your Community" the province. Information can also be found on Halton Region's website. "I have spoken to physicians at hospital rounds before about Lyme disease and informing them about how they can make sure that if one of their patients come in with an actual tick, whether the tick is still stuck on their body or they managed to take it out, that they can submit to us for testing to see whether it's one of the ticks that carries Lyme disease," said Meghani, noting the tick can be taken out with tweezers and placed in a container. Furthermore, the Region is making sure it communicates to the public and educates residents on high-risk locations, what the symptoms are, how to avoid them and protect yourself. "A tick does need to be on your body for at least 24-36 hours for you to even possibly be infected with Lyme disease," she said. For more information on the Lyme disease, visit www.halton.ca/lymedisease. Sheridan P .S. a winning recycler cleaning packaging to be recycled. Anyone in Canada can sign up to be a collector or public drop-off location. Plastic air fresheners and the packaging they come in, trigger heads, screw caps from bathroom and kitchen cleaners, used packs of disposable cleaning wipes and so forth are technically recyclable; however, the high cost of recycling these mixed plastics means the infrastructure to do so isn't available across the country. As a result, this material has ended up in landfills all across Canada, which has prompted Febreze and TerraCycle to join together to find an innovative solution to make sure it is recycled appropriately. 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