Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 3, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba This ad generously supported by I didn’t know what to do. But you did. G I V E T O D A Y “Because of YOU, my mom and I found a place to live so we don’t have to sleep in our car.” 204-477-UWAY unitedwaywinnipeg.ca/give Your gift supports 25 agencies for people experiencing homelessness to find referrals, resources, and housing. WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 NEWS I CANADA FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025 IN BRIEF ‘Outstanding leader’: Army reserve officer killed while ice climbing CALGARY — A Calgary army reserve officer was killed in an ice-climbing accident in eastern British Columbia over the holidays. Maj. Dave Peabody died while off-duty on Dec. 26 in Kootenay National Park, the military said Thursday. “Maj. Peabody was an outstanding leader and a valued member of the Canadian Armed Forces community in Calgary,” Lt.-Col. Andrew Beau- champ, commanding officer of the Calgary High- landers, said in a statement. “Our sincerest and heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Maj. Peabody.” Peabody, 48, served as an infantry officer with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry after joining the Forces in 2007. He served in Af- ghanistan in 2011 and 2012. After 14 years, he was posted to Calgary and decided to call the city home and start a family. Peabody transferred to the Calgary Highland- ers, a unit of 41 Brigade Group, serving part time as a senior officer. Last summer, he deployed to Jasper, Alta., to lead soldiers in the fight against wildfires rav- aging the Rocky Mountain community. In 2021, Peabody became director of The Mil- itary Museums in Calgary in a civilian capacity. “Dave had a way of bringing tremendous energy and enthusiasm to his role,” said Col. Rob- bin Dove, Commander of 3rd Canadian Division Support Group, the Army formation that oversees The Military Museums. In an October interview with The Canadian Press during training at Canadian Forces Base Suffield southeast of Calgary, Peabody reflected on his time in the Forces and the importance of bringing fresh blood into the military. “What it really comes down to is if you’re motivated and you want to be here, you’ll be able to do everything we have to do. It’s not hanging out playing video games. It’s physical. It’s a bit of suffering sometimes, but it’s just about will- power,” Peabody said. “And, really, as we see everything that’s going on in the world today, there is really a higher pur- pose to all of this … if Canada were to call, we need to be ready.” — The Canadian Press BILL GRAVELAND JEFF MCINTOSH / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Maj. Dave Peabody ESCAPED SASK. INMATE FACES NEW CHARGES PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — An inmate who escaped a federal prison in Saskatchewan is facing new charges after police say he fled officers. Glen Halkett was serving a nearly three- year sentence at Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert when staff noticed he was missing on New Year’s Eve. RCMP say he was spotted by officers the next day in the driver’s seat of a vehicle at a home in Little Red River. Mounties say officers approached the vehicle, but it sped past the police cruiser and hit its side. Halkett, 29, is now charged with fleeing from a peace officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and driving while prohibited, along with charges of escaping custody and being unlawfully at large. Sightings and information can be reported to police or Crime Stoppers. Halkett is described as five-feet-eight-inch- es tall, 168 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, a fair complexion and tattoos on his neck and under his left eye. ALTA. MINISTERS TO TALK POLICING ON TEXAS TRIP EDMONTON — Two Alberta government ministers are going to Texas to meet with police and justice officials and share ideas and strategies for public safety. The province says Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis and Justice Minister Mickey Amery could use what they learn in developing future policies or programs. An itinerary says the ministers are sched- uled to meet next week with Dallas Police Department officials, the state prosecuting attorney, emergency management officials and drug trafficking investigators. Amery says Alberta and Texas have a similar history and shared values. And Ellis says the province needs to keep an open mind when it comes to public safety issues and how to address them. The ministers have four days of meetings lined up before they return Jan. 9. — The Canadian Press B.C. avian flu case shows ‘worrisome’ virus mutation I NFECTIOUS disease experts say the avian flu case that infected a 13-year-old in British Columbia shows “worrisome” signs that the virus could be mutating to more easily in- fect humans, but that the treatment approach taken can help inform future cases. In a letter published in the The New England Journal of Medicine Tuesday, Canadian health officials identified changes in the viral genome sequence of specimens collected from the teen- ager who tested positive for avian flu and was treated in Vancouver. The case study says the teen was taken to a pediatric intensive care unit with respiratory failure and pneu- monia on Nov. 8, endured a long hospi- tal stay and recently was taken off of supplemental oxygen on Dec. 18. B.C. health officials said in a state- ment to The Canadian Press Thurs- day that the patient has not been dis- charged from BC Children’s Hospital, but that she is no longer in intensive care. They said they still don’t know how the teen got infected. The report in The New England Jour- nal of Medicine said the girl, who has a history of mild asthma, first went to the emergency room with a fever and conjunctivitis on Nov. 4. A genome sequence taken eight days after the onset of her symptoms showed three mutations in the specimen, in- cluding in genes that “facilitate viral entry into cells in the human respira- tory tract and enable viral replication,” the case study says, adding evidence of the change is “worrisome.” Physicians initiated a multiprong ap- proach, giving the teen all three of the approved antiviral treatments avail- able for avian flu, in addition to intuba- tion and ventilation. There are limited reports of avian flu, otherwise known as H5N1, spread- ing between humans in other parts of the world, according to Health Canada. In most cases, human infections of avian flu are contracted after a human interacts with an infected bird. The reason avian flu is not easily spread from person-to-person is be- cause it has difficulty binding to hu- man airway receptors in the upper respiratory tract, Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver In- fectious Diseases Centre, said. However, he noted, “These mutations — the three mutations they describe in the article — increase the likelihood or the ease with which the virus combined to human airway receptors and that would be the key to it being infectious to humans: That it binds more easily.” Conway said the challenge with drawing conclusions about avian flu is that there’s a small pool of human cases. The 13-year-old patient was the first human case of H5N1 acquired in Canada. That’s a good thing, but it makes it difficult to identify virus mutation trends beyond a single case, he said. But south of the border, a severe hu- man avian flu case in Louisiana showed the same mutation in the hemaggluti- nin gene as the specimen collected in B.C., according to a genetic analysis published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, “suggesting they emerged during the clinical course as the virus replicated in the patient.” Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric in- fectious diseases specialist in Mont- real, says the reassuring thing is there’s been no evidence of human-to-human transmission both in the B.C. and the Louisiana case and that the risk to hu- mans remains low, outside of those who work in the poultry industry. The case study notes there have been no second- ary cases of transmission of the virus at home or at the hospital. “It’s important for public health offi- cials and infectious disease specialists to keep a very close eye on changes in the virus that could lead to a potential for human-to-human transmission,” Papenburg said. Dr. Tim Uyeki, chief medical officer of the CDC’s influenza division, says this is the first patient who he’s aware of that has received a triple combin- ation antiviral treatment for H5N1, which included neuraminidase inhibit- ors, amantadine and baloxavir. Uyeki, who was also a co-author on the case study, said the 13-year-old patient’s doctor called him the day of her admis- sion and they’ve been in regular con- tact on the case ever since. The patient’s condition subsequent- ly improved, but Uyeki cautioned that this is just a single case study of one patient’s experience, who also received other treatments, such as renal re- placement therapy. However, he said that the approach of giving a patient three antivirals can help inform clinical management of other critically ill patients. The CDC has confirmed 66 human cases of avian flu in the United States, 37 of which are in California. Typically one medication is pre- scribed at a time to a patient, but in the B.C. teen’s case, two others were add- ed due to the exceptional nature and severity of this case, Papenburg said based on details included in the case study. “Thankfully, mortality due to influ- enza in children is very infrequent. It does happen and you can see in this case … it got as close to death as one can get.” Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content. — The Canadian Press Teen out of ICU after triple antiviral treatment to fight H5N1 infection DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A biosecurity warning sign is seen on a locked gate at a commercial poultry farm in Abbotsford, B.C. Deaths prompt recommendation for clothing donation bin safety in Alberta A JUDGE is asking the Alberta government to consider developing minimum safety standards for clothing donation bins after three people got stuck trying to get inside and died. Justice Jayme Williams reviewed the accidental deaths in Calgary and Medicine Hat between 2017 and 2019. She says in a report that the benefits of the do- nation bins programs are significant and should be continued, if not expanded, but not at the expense of safety. She reviewed evidence from the companies in- volved and says it’s clear these bins can easily be made safer. The judge says Alberta should consider develop- ing minimum safety standards for the bins to en- sure consistency across the province. The report says the three were experiencing homelessness and died of neck compression or suf- focation after they became stuck in the bins. She adds that the circumstances of each death varied slightly as did the design of each bin. The judge says it’s clear these bins can easily be made safer while not impeding the substantial benefits the donation programs provide. “Benefits of these donation programs include the reduction of waste entering landfills, increased availability of affordable textiles for low-income households or vulnerable populations and financial support for charitable organizations,” Williams wrote in the report. “These accidents were tragic and sadly the indi- viduals who died were all vulnerable members of the community, individuals who these charitable programs are designed to support.” Williams recommended the province consult bin manufacturers, charities and non-profit organiza- tions with donation bin programs about potential regulations and safety standards. Williams says common sense requirements, like adding warning signs to bins and removing an- ti-theft spikes, should be considered. — The Canadian Press ;