A manufacturer in the United States, Diamond Pet Foods, has recalled several batches of its dry pet food due to possible contamination with Salmonella, including pet food that was shipped to Canada.
The affected pet food was distributed to British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick and may have been distributed to other provinces and territories.
The single Canadian case of illness is from Quebec.
Recall information
Check if you have recalled pet food in your home:
- Click on Diamond Pet Foods which has posted the particular brands and lot numbers of potentially affected items.
If you have the affected product:
- do not feed it to your pet.
- call the manufacturer’s hotline at 1?866?918?8756 to ask about a refund, or secure it in a plastic bag and throw it out and then wash your hands thoroughly in warm soapy water
- always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after feeding, handling or cleaning up after pets
- clean surfaces that come into contact with pet food or ill pets
Perth County - When an emergency hits a community you often hear people say: “We never thought it would happen here.” Events like last year’s devastating tornado in Goderich remind us that emergencies can strike anywhere and at any time.
Emergency Preparedness Week
May 6 to 12, 2012, is Emergency Preparedness Week across Canada. “Emergency Preparedness Week is a reminder of how important it is to know about the hazards in your region before an emergency strikes,” says Dale Lyttle, Senior Public Health Inspector. “Knowing what to expect will help protect yourself and your loved ones in case your home and community is affected.”
Be Prepared!
Preparing for an emergency is important and something the whole family can do. Here are three simple steps to help you better prepare:
- Know the risks – Although the consequences of disasters can be similar, you can be better prepared if you know what risks your community faces, such as floods, tornadoes, extreme temperatures, and environmental accidents (i.e. chemical spills).
- Make a plan – Every household needs an emergency plan. It will help you and your family know what to do if disaster strikes. Don’t forget to practice what to do in different emergency situations.
- Put together an emergency kit – During an emergency, you may need to get by without power or tap water. Be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours in an emergency. Basic supplies in the kit would include: a three-day supply of water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, batteries, battery-powered or wind-up radio, first aid kit, pocket knife, prescriptions, extra set of keys and money, and copies of important documents.
Online Support
To find out more about what goes into an emergency kit, how to write an emergency plan and details on hazards across Canada, go to: www.getprepared.ca.
For more information:
- call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- visit www.pdhu.on.ca
- follow the Health Unit on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PDHealthUnit
Stratford - The Perth District Health Unit’s THINK team celebrated Earth Day by picking up cigarette butt litter across Stratford. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, and are not biodegradable. Littered cigarette butts can stay in our ecosystem for decades.
The THINK team is a group of youth that work with the Perth District Health Unit to prevent youth from starting to smoke. In just a few short hours, the THINK team collected thousands of cigarette butts from locations across the city.
“We wanted to raise awareness about the negative impact cigarette butt litter has on our environment,” says THINK team member, Jane Schwering. “They leach toxic chemicals into water and soil; they are poisonous to animals and young children and, unfortunately, they seem to be everywhere.”
Cigarette butts are the number one littered item in the world with approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette butts littered each year.
Jesse McMahon, THINK team peer leader, urges “smokers to think twice before littering your butts ? our earth is not an ashtray.”
The THINK team has also been using their Facebook page to educate their fans about the environmental impacts of cigarette butts. For more information, visit, www.whatareyouthinking.me.
For more information, call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267. Visit www.pdhu.on.ca.
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Perth County - May is Rabies Awareness Month in Ontario and the Perth District Health Unit is reminding pet owners to protect their pets!
“Rabies Month is a chance for us to encourage pet owners to vaccinate their pets against rabies and to also let people know what the Health Unit’s role is in preventing rabies,” says Kate Beath, Public Health Inspector.
In Ontario, it is the law that all dogs and cats (including indoor cats) over three months old be vaccinated against rabies. If your pets are not vaccinated, you could face an $85 fine, and you’ll still have to pay for them to be vaccinated.
“Although there has been a decrease in the number of rabid animals in Perth County, rabies does still exist in our area – and it’s a disease that is almost always fatal,” says Beath.
Free Treats for New Dog Owners in May!
In honour of Rabies Awareness Month, the Perth District Health Unit is giving away an information pack to people who buy or adopt a dog in the month of May. The package has reminders on the importance of the rabies vaccine, a fridge magnet, and a free dog treat made by The Barkery. Information packs will be given out across Perth County at the OSPCA, participating pet stores, and some dog breeders, while quantities last.
The Role of the Health Unit: Investigating Animal Bites
Animal bites must be reported to the Health Unit so that a Public Health Inspector (PHI) can do a follow-up investigation and ensure that the victim was not exposed to rabies. Here are the steps that are followed during an investigation:
- Once reported, the PHI will follow-up with the victim to get information about the exposure and the animal involved, such as breed, size and distinct markings.
- The PHI will then call the animal owner to confirm the exposure and to determine the rabies vaccination status of the animal in question and any other animals within that household.
- The animal owner will have to vaccinate any animal whose status is not up-to-date.
- Regardless of the rabies vaccination status, the animal in question must be confined for 10 days – this can normally be done by the animal owner in their home – to determine if the animal was rabid and infectious at the time of the bite.
- If the animal owner cannot be located, the Health Unit will use local media and social media to ask the public if they have any information to help find the animal.
- If the animal cannot be located, the Health Unit will recommend that the victim talk to their doctor about post-exposure treatment for rabies. The decision is between the victim and the doctor.
“Throughout an investigation, it is the health inspector’s goal to ensure the health and safety of the victim, and to prevent the occurrence of rabies in humans through education and enforcement,” explains Beath.
More Information
For more information about rabies:
- Call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- Visit www.pdhu.on.ca
- Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/PDHealthUnit
Perth County - Young parents and pregnant teens in Perth County now have more support! The Perth District Health Unit and the Perth Middlesex Early Years Centre host a program called Young Parents’ Place, which is a drop-in program for pregnant teens, and moms and dads under 25 years of age, and their children. This support program has been taking place in Stratford and Listowel and is now expanding to Mitchell in April 2012. Young Parents’ Place also goes live on Facebook this month.
“We are very excited to be offering Young Parents’ Place in Mitchell,” says Jaclyn Dietz, Public Health Nurse. “Parents find the drop-ins very rewarding and a great place to connect with other people who are going through similar life experiences.”
At Young Parents’ Place, young parents and pregnant teens come to:
- Enjoy a meal that they cook together
- Make new friends
- Talk about parenting and pregnancy.
Young Parents’ Place Perth County Schedule
Stratford
1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, 5-7 pm
Ontario Years Centre, 35 Waterloo Street North
Listowel
Last Tuesday of each month, 4:30-6:30 pm
Upper Deck, 280 Wallace Street South
Mitchell
2nd Wednesday of each month, 5:30-7:30 pm
Perth Care for Kids, 177 Frances Street
Now on Facebook!
Young Parents’ Place Perth County is now on Facebook! Young moms and dads and pregnant teens are invited to join the group by “liking” the page at: www.facebook.com/YoungParentsPlacePerthCounty.
For more information:
- call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- visit www.pdhu.on.ca
- follow the Health Unit on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PDHealthUnit
Perth County - The Perth District Health Unit is celebrating National Volunteer Week from April 15 to 21, 2012. Volunteers are essential to the Health Unit as they support many different programs.
The theme for National Volunteer Week 2012 is Volunteers: Passion. Action. Impact. National Volunteer Week is a week-long celebration whereby registered charities, not-for-profit organizations and volunteer centres from all across Canada pause to recognize and thank their volunteers.
“Here at the Health Unit we are fortunate to have so many different volunteers share their time and skills in beneficial ways,” says Dr. Miriam Klassen, Medical Officer of Health. “We are grateful for the ways in which each of our volunteers contributes to our mission of promoting health, protecting health, and preventing disease in Perth County.”
A few of the many services that our invaluable volunteers provide include:
- Mentoring students in our school-based Teen Esteem and Elements Programs
- Putting together information packages and materials for the public
- Delivering posters and information packages throughout the County.
For more information about the Health Unit’s volunteer program, call the Coordinator of Volunteer Services at 519-271-7600 ext 305 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 305. Or visit www.pdhu.on.ca and click on “Careers/Volunteers”.]]>
- For more information, visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website
- Click here for more information on Salmonella
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Perth County - The Perth District Health Unit received a $1,000 donation from the Perth Dairy Producers, which will help it to continue providing nutrition support to priority families in Perth County.
“We are very grateful for this donation,” says Pat Jarvis-Winhold, Public Health Manager. “The money will be very well spent to help make sure families in Perth County are better able to afford nutritious food.”
The money is used to provide milk coupons for families involved with the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program. The coupons are redeemed at participating grocers for 4 litres of bagged milk.
For more information, call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267. Visit www.pdhu.on.ca.
Photo Caption:
Pictured in the photo from left to right are: Tara Williams (Public Health Nurse), Norm Bedard, and Henry Wydeven (Representatives of 390 Dairy Producers of Perth County), and Michelle Thompson (Parent Resource Visitor). The funds will be used to help provide nutrition support to young families in the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program.
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Perth County - World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is on Saturday, March 24. The day marks the discovery of the TB bacteria by Dr. Robert Koch in 1882.
Each year there are about 1,600 new TB cases in Canada, many of which are Aboriginal people and new immigrants. While Perth County does not have a high incidence of active TB disease, cases do occur. Every year in Perth County, people are diagnosed with latent TB infection and receive treatment. Latent TB infection is tuberculosis that is not yet capable of spreading from person to person and has not yet made the infected person sick.
New! Online Training Course
This year, the Health Unit is marking World TB Day by partnering with Huron County and Grey Bruce health units to launch an online training tool for local healthcare providers. The module will reinforce their knowledge of tuberculosis identification, testing and treatment.
“TB continues to be prevalent around the world and we cannot let down our guard in Perth County,” says CarolAnn McMann, Public Health Nurse. “ TB can spread easily through the air when someone with active pulmonary TB coughs, sneezes, or speaks, so we need to be vigilant.”
Everyone can play a role in stopping TB.
If you have been in contact with someone who has TB, or if you have had a cough that has lasted longer than three weeks with night sweats and weight loss, you may need a TB skin test or chest x-ray. TB skin tests are available through your family doctor or the Perth District Health Unit. Persons planning to reside temporarily in a country where TB is endemic, or volunteer in a setting with increased TB risk, should have a skin test prior to departure and upon return to Perth County.
For more information, call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267. Or visit www.pdhu.on.ca.
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- For more information, visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency web site.
- For a list of affected products, click here
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