News

Health Unit Closing its Tick Testing Services, Faster Results for the Public

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

NORTH BAY, ON — Individuals have a couple months left to submit a tick to the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit (Health Unit) for laboratory testing. Effective January 1, 2025, the public will be asked to use online tools to assess the risk of tick-borne disease transmission.

This decision comes as part of the Health Unit’s efforts to make tick identification more efficient for the public. Currently, testing through a private lab is a lengthy process and often...

Health Unit Launches Flu and COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Schedule for High-Risk Groups

NEWS RELEASE

NORTH BAY, ON – The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is gearing up to protect residents against the flu and COVID-19 as we enter another respiratory season. Starting mid-October, the Health Unit will offer both vaccines to high-risk individuals, with availability opening to the general population in November. Individuals can also receive their vaccines from participating pharmacies and primary care providers. The Health Unit has released its community clinic schedule for...

Mosquitoes continue to pose health risks in Health Unit region

NEWS RELEASE 

PARRY SOUND, ON - The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit (Health Unit) is reminding residents to continue to take precautions against mosquito bites after a positive case of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) was confirmed in a horse that became ill around Aug. 12, 2024. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness and Ministry of Rural Affairs reported the positive case in a horse from the Parry Sound district on Sept. 4, 2024. Eastern equine encephalitis, a disease...

West Nile Virus Detected in Third Bird in North Bay Parry Sound District

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

NORTH BAY, ON - The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit (Health Unit) is reminding residents to take precautions against West Nile Virus (WNV) after a positive case was confirmed in a Broad-Winged Hawk on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) reported the positive case in the hawk collected in the Parry Sound, Unorganized, Centre Part area. This is the third confirmed case of WNV in a bird in the Health Unit region this year with...

Harmful Blue-Green Algae in Bear Lake

Note: The laboratory results from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks indicated that a harmful algal bloom was not present at the time of sampling (July 29,2024), but had occurred on Bear Lake at some point. 

NEWS RELEASE

SPRUCEDALE, ON - The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit (Health Unit) would like to advise the public that a harmful algae bloom (cyanobacteria), also known as blue-green algae, has been found in Bear Lake for the first time. Species of the algae...