Tick-borne pathogens, known for causing illnesses such as Lyme disease, are on the rise in Central Canada – presenting new risks in areas where they were never previously detected.
The findings from researchers at McGill University and the University of Ottawa demonstrate the need for more comprehensive testing and tracking to detect the spread and potential risk of tick-borne pathogens to human and wildlife populations throughout Canada.
The list of “bad things” could range from gross but harmless spoilage to dangerous pathogens such as Clostridium botulinum. In the case of botulism, it’s the toxin produced from the bacteria that is harmful, not the bacteria itself, says Brigitte Cadieux, a postdoctoral fellow in McGill University’s Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.
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Shipping and mining in the Arctic. The spread of invasive microbial pathogens around the world. Changing agricultural practices. Use of genomic-modification tools. Those are among the 14 most significant issues that could affect the science and management of invasive species over the next two decades, according to an international team of ecologists, who published their findings in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
Published on March 4, 2014 | The Globe and Mail
by Tu Thanh Ha
French researchers who have revived a 30,000-year-old giant virus from a sample of Siberian permafrost are cautioning that the mining and drilling of northern regions could potentially free dormant pathogens out of the frozen soil.
