Infections in the natural environment of British Columbia, Canada
Received 31 July 2008; accepted 18 August 2008.
Summary
The Canadian province of British Columbia has a luxurious environment, complete with the multitude of wildlife and insects, and would at first glance appear to be suitable for the transmission of diseases in nature communicable to humans. Despite this potential, such diseases are relatively uncommon, although several have the potential for serious consequences. Attention has been recently focused on hantavirus infection, water-borne toxoplasmosis and parasitic diarrheal diseases, cryptococcosis on Vancouver Island, and rabies. West Nile virus has not yet caused endemic human infection in this province as of 2008. We review the cumulative science in this area.
aDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Canada
bDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3V4
cFaculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia, Canada
Corresponding author at: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3V4. Tel.: +1 604 271 9321; fax: +1 604 271 9321.
ABSTRACT