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5TuesdayAugust12201415YearsAgo...SettingtherecordstraightontheMOIDetailsoftheproposedSmithsLandingclaimareasthatfallwithintheboundariesofWoodBuffaloNa-tionalParkwerereleasedatapublicmeetingMon-day.Therearethreeparcelsoflandthatareinsidetheparksboundaries.UndertheproposedclaimtheselandswillofciallybecomeIndianreservesandceasetobeparkland.IssueAugust10199920YearsAgo...ArseniclevelsupArseniclevelsinYellowknifeairincreasedduring1993accordingtoareportreleasedlastweekbythedepartmentofRenewableResources.Theannualav-eragewas0.015microgramspercubicmetreupfromrangesof0.006to0.01between1989and1992.ThehighestconcentrationswerefoundinthevicinityoftheRoyalOakGiantMine.IssueAugust10199430YearsAgo...MassbuffalodrowningAbout40bisonarereportedtohavedrownedinanareasouthwestofSweetgrassinWoodBuffaloNa-tionalPark.ParksCanadaofcialKenEastsaysitsbelievedtheyhadbeendeadaboutfourdays.ManyarestilloatinginLakeClaireorhavebeenwasheduponshore.Currentlyitisestimatedthatthebisoncountintheparkisabout5000.IssueAugust91984ARCHIVESCOLUMNSHayRiverandTroutLakehavebeenaddedtothegrowinglistofcommunitiesinthesouthernhalfoftheNWTthathavebeenthreatenedbynearbywild-resthisyear.MoreNWTcommunitiesthreatenedasextremereconditionscontinueTerryGiovannettiNotgoodNorthernJournal2014JoinusonlineLikeNorthernJournalonFacebookandgettheweeklynewsdeliveredtoyourfeedFACEBOOKFEEDBACKByDAWNKOSTELNIKThelastmovieofthisyearwhichhasbeenplayingfortheentiremonthisJoanofArc.Thelastmoviebeforebreakupgetsre-playeduntilaplanecancomeinandnallytakeitaway.Inthesummerwedontwatchmoviesaseveryoneistoobusytositstillthatlong.Natureismuchmoreinterest-ingandbeingstuckinsideissomethingthatyouhavetodoifyouaresick.WhywouldyoustayinsideifyouwerentsickIbelievethatmymotherhasbeenstronglyinuencedbytheJoanofArcmoviesheclipsmyhairasshortastheboys.MynameisDawnwhichdoesntsounddifferentthanDonex-ceptinmymindandnowIhaveaboyshaircut.Allofthegirlsweartheirhairlongandstraight.MyfriendSarahhasbeautifulwildcurlsathrowbackfromaFrenchvoyageurancestorIamsure.HerlastnameisGaudet.Theteasingislimitless.Maybethehaircutwillprovideacoverformewhilewetrytoadjusttoacommunitythatisnotrealfondofwhitepeople.GirlscanbemuchcruellerthantheboyssometimesandImakeacutelittleboywithmyshorthair.TheymayleavemealoneuntilmyhairgrowsoutandtheydiscoverthatIamactu-allyagirlandthenthefunwillbegin.ItistreatydayinGoodHope.PeoplecollectonthegrassintheRCMPcompound.TreatyIndiansreceive5perpersonandsometimesawoolblanket.Non-treatyIndiansreceivenoth-ingwhichisntmuchless.Ev-eryoneisdressedintheirnest.Womensheadsarecoveredinbrightscarvestheywearlongdressesandsparklingbeadedmuklukswithrubbers.SomeoftheoldmensportoldblacktopWhiteGirlBackinTime1967Part2of2hatsandblacksuitjacketsthatlooktobeahundredyearsold.Hundred-year-oldhatsperchonheadsthatlooktobeahundredyearsoldalso.Womenchewsnuffandspitaswellorbetterthanthemen.Kidsrollaroundonthegrassbetweenthepeoplethataresittingcross-leggedwaitingforthegovernmentofcialstonishtheirbuzz.Slaveysingsitssonginthebackground.Thedroneofvoicesputsev-eryoneinatrance.Looklookdownbythechurch.Thisis1967CanadasCen-tennialYear.Antibiotic-ResistantOrganismsandwhywecareaboutthemByDR.ANDRCORRIVEAUInarecentlyreleasedreporttheWorldHealthOrganizationiswarningusthatantimicrobialresistanceisanincreasinglyse-riouspublichealththreataroundtheworldhttpwww.who.intdrugresistancedocumentssurveillancereporten.Thisproblemariseswhenamicroor-ganismnolongerrespondstoadrugtowhichitwasoriginallysensitive.Wheneverthisoccursstandardtreatmentsnolongerworkinfectionsbecomeharderorimpossibletocontrolillnessandhospitalstaysareprolongedwithaddedeconomicandsocialcostsandtheriskofdeathisalsoincreased.ToquotethisreportTheproblemissoseriousthatitthreatenstheachievementsofmodernmedicine.Apost-antibi-oticerainwhichcommonin-fectionsandminorinjuriescankillisaveryrealpossibilityforthe21stcentury.IwasthereforepleasedtobeinvitedtoparticipateasajurymemberintheCanadianCon-sensusDevelopmentConferenceonSurveillanceandScreeningforAROsAntibioticResistantOr-ganismswhichwasorganizedbytheInstituteofHealthEco-nomicsoftheUniversityofAl-bertainJune.Ithoughtitwouldbeworthwhiletosharesomein-formationaboutthisimportantpublichealthissue.Antibioticsareprescribedbyhealthpractitionerstotreatbac-terialinfections.Theyworkbykillingorslowingthegrowthofbacteriahelpingthebodysownimmunesystemtoeliminatethesourceofinfection.Effectiveantibioticsarecrucialtotheprac-ticeofmodernmedicine.With-outtheseminoroperationsandmanyothermedicaltreatmentswouldbeassociatedwithmuchgreaterriskofdyingduetoin-fections.Inadditionantibioticsplayanessentialroleinthepub-lichealthresponsetooutbreaksoftuberculosisorforlimitingthespreadofsexuallytransmit-tedinfections.Unfortunatelybacteriahavetheabilitytochangeorevolvesothattheynolongerrespondtocommonlyusedantibioticsinotherwordstheybecomeantibi-oticresistant.Wehavelearnedthatbacteriacanevensharere-sistancegenesamongthemselveswithinfavourableenvironments.TheUnitedStatesCenterforDiseaseControlandPreventionCDCrecentlyestimatedthatatleast23000Americansdieeachyearfromantibioticresistantin-fectionsandover20billionofdirecthealthcarecostsarelinkedtoantibiotic-resistantillness.IntheCanadiancontextthecurrentoverallmedicalcostsofantimi-crobialresistancetotheCanadianhealthcaresystempredominantlyaffectingtheinstitutionalsectormaybeasmuchas200millionperyear.ThespreadofAROsisfosteredbythemisuseoveruseorinap-propriateuseofantibioticsinpreventingortreatinginfectionsinpeopleanimalsandplants.Whenantibioticsaremisusedtheweakbacteriaarekilledwhilethestrongermoreresistantonessurviveandmultiply.Thiscanhappenwhenthewrongdosageandorcombinationofantibioticsisprescribedorwhensomeonedoesnottakeantibioticsaspre-scribedsuchasskippingdosesorstoppingthemedicationtoosoon.Ascloseto75ofantibiot-icsareusedinagriculturalset-tingsthisisanissuethatextendswellbeyondthefrontiersofthehealthcaresystem.LinkshavenowbeenclearlymadebetweengivingdrugstoanimalsandtheappearanceofAROsinhumans.Antibioticsmaybegiventofood-producinganimalstopromotegrowthandtotreatandpreventinfections.Theymayalsobesprayedonfruittreestopreventorcontroldisease.Drug-resistantorganismscanthenbetransferredtohumansinmeatmilkfruitordrinkingwateraddingtothere-sistanceproblem.Anexampleofthisisdrug-resistantSalmonellawhichcanbetransferredfromani-malstohumansthroughthefoodchain.ToaddresstheseconcernsHealthCanadasVeterinaryDrugsDirectorateVDDincollabora-tionwiththeCanadianAnimalHealthInstituteCAHIiscur-rentlyengagedinworkwithotherimplicatedstakeholderstoremovethegrowthpromotionandorpro-ductionclaimsofmedically-im-portantantimicrobialdrugsandtolookatoptionstostrengthentheveterinaryoversightofantimi-crobialuseinfoodanimalsmoreinfoathttpwww.hc-sc.gc.cadhp-mpsvetantimicrobamr-notice-ram-avis-20140410-eng.php.HoweverforthepurposeoftheseseriesIwillbefocusingonthehumanmedicalaspectsofthisissue.Properdiagnosisistherststepintheeffectivetreatmentofanyinfection.Visityourdoctororotherhealthcareproviderforaproperassessment.Beawarethatantibioticsarenoteffectiveagainstallinfectionscausedbymicro-organismsforexamplean-tibioticsarenoteffectiveagainstviruseslikecoldoru.Alsospe-cicgermscanbetreatedmoreeffectivelywithdrugsthataretargetedtothem.Thisoftenre-quiresalaboratorytest.Takemedicationasdirected.Donotstoptakingprescribedmedicationpartwaythroughthecourseoftreatmentun-lessyouarehavingaseriousadversereactionwithoutrstdiscussingitwithyourhealthcareprovider.Evenifyoufeelbetterusetheentirecourseofprescribedmedicationasdirectedtomakesurethatallofthebacteriaaredestroyed.Donotshareprescriptiondrugswithanyoneelseortakedrugsprescribedtoanyoneelse.Donotushout-of-dateorun-usedmedicationsdownthetoi-letpourthemdownthesinkorputtheminthegarbage.Ifyoudothismedicationwillendupintheenvironmentwhichcouldincreasethedrugresistanceproblem.Insteadreturnunusedmedicationstoyourhealthcentreorpharmacyforproperdisposal.HowbigaproblemareAROsintheNorthwestTerritoriesandshouldweworryaboutthemUnderthePublicHealthActtheDiseaseSurveillanceRegulationsoftheNorthwestTerritoriesmakeitmandatoryforlaboratoriesandhealthprofessionalstore-portanumberofcommunicablediseasesamongtheminfectionscausedbyantibiotic-resistantor-ganismsAROssuchasMethi-cillin-ResistantStaphylococcusaureusMRSAandVancomycin-ResistantEnterococciVRE.WealsocollectinformationoncasesofClostridiumdifcileC.diffinfectionandmonitorantibioticresistancepatternsonallcasesofactivetuberculosis.AlthoughtherearecurrentlyconcernsabouttheincreasingprevalenceofGonorrhoealinfectionsthatareresistanttomultipleantibioticstherehassofarbeennoevidenceofthisproblemhavingemergedintheNWT.InmynextarticleIwillprovideinformationonthestatisticsthatwecollectaboutvarioustypesofAROsintheNWT.