ns id eh al to n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 1 5, 2 01 8 |10 COMMUNITY PERSONAL INJURY + MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Halton Industry Education Council hosting Career Coaches seminars Calling all youth and community role models. The Halton Industry Ed ucation Council (HIEC) is set to host its 14th annual Career Coaches workshops this spring at Burlington Convention Centre. Women as Career Coaches will be held on Thursday, Mar. 22, while Men as Career Coaches is slated for Thursday, Apr. 19. Both events, which are free for high school stu dents and mentors, run from 5:15 to 9 p.m. The seminars aim to bring young people togeth er with role models from a wide variety of profession al backgrounds to discuss career pathways and pro mote a culture of support and empowerment. Formed in 1989, HIEC strives to address the need for great collaboration be tween industry and educa tion in the community. To register for Women as Career Coaches, visit hiec.on.ca/wacc. To regis ter for Men as Career Coaches, visit hiec.on.ca/ macc. 3 deaths in Halton this year from Group A Strep ALEXANDRA HECK aheck@metroland.com Halton Region public health is confirming that three people have died since the beginning of this year from Group A strep infec tions. The bacteria, which ranges from very mild infec tions to severe cases has tak en the life of a young mother in Markham earlier this month. In rare cases, strep A bac teria can lead to an invasive gas disease (iGAS), which is when the bacteria enter the bloodstream. In Halton, there have been eight reported cases of Group A strep, three of which have been fatal. Halton Healthcare has confirmed that there have been cases of Group A strep at the Georgetown Hospital, but there has not been an outbreak, or a situation sim ilar to that of the Markham- The Toronto Star An image of a Streptoccus pyogenes bacteria; the bacteria which causes strep throat; seen under a microscope. Stouffville hospital. "There have been cases of Strep A at Georgetown Hos pital," said Emma Murphy, interim manager of Com munications and Public Re lations with Halton Health care, in an emailed re sponse. "However, it is im portant to note that we do not monitor or report all cases of Strep A that are en countered at our hospitals, as this infection can cause a wide range of conditions." Four of these cases were in Burlington, one in Halton Hills, one in Milton and two in Oakville. Last year Hal ton public health received 16 reports of the infection, one fatal. None of the cases in Hal ton have been related to new mothers. Group A streptococcus can manifest itself in the form of soft tissue infections or toxic shock syndrome. Severe cases can result in amputations, or death. Only severe forms of Group A strep are reported to the public health depart ment. Cases that classify an infection as clinically severe are those associated with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, soft tissue infec tions, meningitis or death. In Peel Region there have been over 60 reported cases and six deaths since Janu ary 2017. There has been one fatal case in Peel this year. Be^Long Oakville Photo Credit: Kevin Sousa and A Munday, Visit Oakville SEE. DO. EXPLORE. 138.5 KM2. 31 OPEN DOORS & COUNTING. ONE DAY ONLY. Join us Saturday, March 17 FREE Recreation, Culture & Heritage Activities! For event tim es and locations visit theocf.org/Belong Experienced Tria l Lawyers Serving Oakville , M ilto n a n d B u rling ton # B e longO akv ille U f SWLawyers.ca 905.842.3838 540 C o r n w a l l R o a d S u i t e 106, O a k v i l l e mailto:aheck@metroland.com #BelongOakville