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Ontario declares measles outbreak over The measles outbreak Ontario has been grappling with since last October is officially over, according to Public Health Ontario. The province’s top doctor said Thursday that the outbreak ended on Monday, when it had been 46 days since any new reported cases — twice the maximum incubation period for measles. The declaration is in line with national guidance. The outbreak saw 2,375 measles cases diagnosed in Ontario, the majority of which occurred in unvaccinated individuals. One person died. Measles was effectively eliminated in Canada in 1998 thanks to vaccines. Public Health Ontario notes that before COVID-19, the annual number of measles cases in Ontario ranged between seven and 22. Cases of the highly infectious disease are still being reported in Alberta. Public health officials say Canada is likely to lose its measles elimination status this year. Read more on what the Pan American Health Organization has said about the countries that stand to lose elimination status. 
How toenails are helping scientists tackle lung cancer Scientists at the University of Calgary say they are seeking toenail clippings for a study looking into radon gas exposure and potential lung cancer risk. They say measuring levels of certain radioactive isotopes in toenail clippings may reveal a person's long-term exposure to radon gas — an odourless, colourless, tasteless gas that occurs naturally in the environment. "We've learned that our toenails hold long-term information about our exposure to radioactive toxicants in our environment, such as radon gas. They are one of our body's archives of past exposure," said Aaron Goodarzi, lead investigator and professor at the university. Goodarzi said he is hoping to recruit up to 10,000 people from all over Canada to test their homes for radon and collect and send in their toenail clippings to be analyzed for a national study aimed at expanding criteria for lung cancer screening. Read more to learn about some of the initial findings and why researchers say current screening guidelines for lung cancer fall short of what’s needed. 
Rethinking heart transplant surgery, and who can donate In a groundbreaking first for Canada, surgeons at Toronto's University Health Network (UHN) have successfully completed a heart transplant using a donor whose heart had stopped beating, a technique known as donation after circulatory death.  Unlike traditional heart transplants that use organs from brain-dead donors whose hearts continue to beat, this new approach recovers hearts after life support is withdrawn and the heart has stopped beating.
"Before, we only used hearts from brain-dead donors whose hearts were still beating,” Dr. Ali Rabi, the cardiac surgeon at UHN's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre who led September’s surgery, said. “Now, we can use hearts that have stopped beating after life support is withdrawn." This new method allows doctors to do the same surgery on more viable donors and increase the number of hearts available for use. "These are donors who are not considered brain dead. They have a few basic reflexes but no prospect of recovery. That decision is made by the patient, their family, their treatment team, and a neurology team. The family then decides they do not want their loved one to continue like this." The Canadian Institute for Health Information says that by the end of 2024, there were 155 adults and 29 children waiting for a heart transplant. "Because of this surgery, we increase the number of heart transplants by 20 to 40 per cent. This will also reduce the number of people who never receive a heart transplant and die waiting for one," Rabi said. | 
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