Toronto Public Health confirms first three cases of Omicron variant in city’s Indigenous population
A Toronto Public Health team in the community has confirmed the first three new cases of Omicron variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the city’s Indigenous populations.
There have also been cases detected in the United States, which are being investigated.
The confirmation on Friday comes after Toronto Public Health confirmed the first two cases of vCJD in the city’s Indigenous population on June 13.
Health Canada has issued an alert urging anyone who may have a vCJD risk to get their family members assessed by a health professional.
Toronto Public Health will be providing information regarding the first three confirmed cases of Omicron variant vCJD in Toronto on June 13, 2020. Toronto Public Health will be providing information regarding the first three confirmed cases of vCJD in the city’s Indigenous populations on June 13, 2020.
Toronto Public Health (TPH) is also investigating cases in the United States, which have been referred for further investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Toronto has a population of approximately 416,000 residents and is home to a number of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples who live in the city and its neighbouring municipalities include the Huron-Wendat peoples (the Haudenosaunee), the Ojibway, the Potawatomi, the Wappinger, and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.
Toronto is home to the Toronto Public Health Indigenous Health Research Centre and is currently in the midst of a long-standing collaboration with the University Ontario Institute of Cancer Research to conduct surveillance and genetic research on cancers that affect Indigenous communities.
The Omicron variant
Omicron variant CJD (vCJD) is caused by prions which get into the nervous system during the replication of the misfolded proteins.