The last year has been all-quiet on the medical front - successful for the Fleet Surgeon, anyway. There have been no more cases of scurvy, no floggings or keelhauling, and no reports of drunkenness on the docks, even during the SIN Regatta. I was away for that, with 5 other NYC boats up in the Broughton Islands last summer, and we all met up for a pig roast at Pierre’s Cove, operated by a couple from Gabriola.
British Columbia remains the only area of North America with no evidence yet of West Nile Virus in humans, birds or mosquitoes. The virus was found in one horse in the northeast of the province, likely acquired in the US. While Canada reported fewer human cases in 2006, the concern is the US saw an increase of 37%.
Do not touch dead birds, use DEET-containing mosquito repellant, and make sure your boat has insect screens for those summer evenings.
Pandemic flu remains a major risk and concern, and could be a virulent strain.
Avian flu is different, and refers to influenza A found mainly in birds. Cases of human infection have occurred since 1997, and there have been several outbreaks in BC.
The best you can do is have your flu shots, and if you believe Don Cherry, maybe use Cold-Fx (ginseng) if you get sniffles. The twice-daily preventative dose has been approved by Health Canada, but the high therapeutic dose remains controversial.
In fact, it was in the press recently that Health Canada has advised caution with high doses of some Vitamins. Most people do not need vitamin supplements, except perhaps the water-soluble ones, B & C. Mega doses of the fat-soluble ones, A, D, E & K can be toxic and lead to health problems. The body stores these in the liver, and they are not destroyed by cooking, so can accumulate.
Finally, on the topic of toxins, a headline in today’s paper says Fish Are Up To Their Gills In Mercury, and experts at an international conference have issued a worldwide public warning about global mercury pollution, added to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuel. More grist for the growing global warming alarm. Three times as much falls from the sky than before the Industrial Revolution, and builds up in long-lived fish at the top of the food chain.
Last year I urged everyone to eat more fish, good for the little grey cells, but like all good things, too much may not be that good for you, and actually damage your brain, so now we have to limit eating Albacore (White) tuna. Happily, wild salmon is just fine, as are whitefish, flatfish and young rockfish.
Tony Dowell
Fleet Surgeon