This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers Saturday morning. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so through By clicking here.
The rapid spread of bird flu, the evolving supply of toxic drugs and the political response to them, as well as the growth and expanding use of drugs such as Ozempic. These are some of the top medical stories we plan to cover in 2025.
We'll also report on health care topics, such as the more than 5 million Canadian adults who struggle to find a regular health-care provider and the challenges of getting vaccinated for preventable diseases in children and adults alike.
Keeping tabs on H5N1 bird flu in North America
Flu watchers say they will keep a close eye on the potential for a pandemic of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in 2025. The virus continues to wreak havoc on American dairy cattle and Canadian poultry. It was most recently found in Circular impressions in Nunavut and has infected dozens of people with mostly mild illness.
“If the virus adapted to a new host and changed to be able to spread from one person to another, that would be a big deal,” said Dr. Linora Sachsinger said on CBC. dosage.
A respiratory virus that spreads easily between people poses a major health risk, especially if it causes serious illness.
Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, director of epidemiology and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization, is calling for increased surveillance globally of animal populations considered most susceptible to H5N1, including wild birds, poultry, pigs and cattle.
Following sporadic cases between humans and other mammals over the past decade, confirmed cases of H5N1 in animals began to explode in 2022, leapfrogging the virus. Minks and seals to domestic dogs and cats.
It is believed to be spread to mammals by eating infected birds, said infectious disease physician and microbiologist at Toronto's Sunnybrook Research Institute. Samira Mubareka said on CBC radio. Day 6.
In November, health officials in British Columbia confirmed that a teenager was in critical condition after contracting H5N1. It's still unclear how the teenager caught the virus, and officials say it may never be known.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said tests showed the version of the virus collected from the teenager was related to the type circulating in chicken flocks in BC, not that circulating in dairy cattle in the United States.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported outbreaks in dairy cows in 16 U.S. states and confirmed cases of infection in 60 people, mostly mild, but many infections are believed to be undiagnosed.
Overall, epidemiologists watch for what they call “recruitment events,” where different flu viruses from different animal species mix in the same animal, creating a new version against which humans have no immunity.
– Amina Zafar
How will the toxic drug crisis evolve in 2025?
In the grim saga of Canada's toxic drug crisis, a glimmer of hope began to appear in 2024, when opioid death statistics showed a decline from the previous year. was still mean An average of 21 deaths per day nationwide. But it is prompting questions about why this trend is happening and whether it will continue in 2025.
The government and political response to the drug crisis will be a key topic to watch in the new year. In addition to the national debate during a possible federal election campaign about how to deal with drug addiction, see how provincial measures will play out — e.g. Off Ontario of supervised consumption sites, British Columbia move To recriminalize drug use in public places and Alberta's push To force addicted people into treatment.
In this political context, even small pilot projects providing safe supply to addicts are under sharp scrutiny. is running National Evaluation of Secure Supply Pilot Programs A progress report is due in the early months of 2025.
Some preliminary results found an almost 80 percent reduction in overdoses among clients of the Toronto Safe Opioid Supply Program. The evaluation included a comparison of the effectiveness of safe supply prescribing compared with first-line opioid agonist treatment in improving health.
– Mike Crowley
The rise of Ozempic
The number of Canadians using GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs – like Ozempic – for both diabetes and weight loss continues to grow. According to The latest numbers in Canada from GreenShieldBetween 2022 and 2023, there was a 43 percent increase in those claiming to use weight-loss drugs, according to the Institute of Integrated Health Services, which collects insurance data. GLP-1 agonists also account for 46 percent of diabetes drug costs in the country.
The number of Canadians using these drugs is expected to increase. “We expect continued growth, no question. It may not be as explosive as it has been in the past two years,” said Ned Pojczyk, vice president of pharmacy benefit management at GreenShield Canada.
Next year, drugmakers are also looking to expand the drug's use beyond weight loss and diabetes. US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will launch a large clinical study in 2025 on the use of GLP-1 agonists for alcohol abuse, nicotine use, drug abuse and inflammatory conditions. Useful for other things we don't think of as being associated with weight.” CEO David A. Ricks said.
Another thing to watch out for as GLP-1 drugs grow in popularity: side effects. experts warned About unintended consequences, such as muscle loss, nausea and – in severe cases – potentially life-threatening conditions such as pancreatitis.
– Jennifer Yoon
Long-term effects of covid
Prolonged COVID, also known as post-COVID-19 condition, as defined by the World Health Organization Symptoms that last three months or longer after infection and cannot be explained by anything else.
With some people living with symptoms for up to five years, prolonged covid will be a condition to watch from a health care perspective next year.
About 21 million adults, or about seven percent of the adult population, live in Canada Prolonged COVID symptoms2023 survey by Statistics Canada suggests. Common symptoms include persistent fatigue, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath and symptoms that worsen after exertion, which can be debilitating.
In January, about 24 members of a long-standing COVID support group spoke to CBC News about their daily life experiences and the difficulty of finding help to help them recover.
“There are impacts on people, their ability to work and care for their families, and their continued struggle to get disability insurance,” Dr. Kieran Quinn, a physician scientist in internal medicine at Sinai Health and assistant professor of medicine at the university. of Toronto, said in an emailed update.
“There are probably bigger implications, too Health care systemIncluding the use of health services, which is difficult to measure.”
– Amina Zafar
Vaccine progress and challenges
For the first time since 2016, Canada is about to renew it National Immunization Strategy In 2025. Public health officials will adjust vaccination targets based on how much progress the country has made in vaccinating people against preventable diseases — and the rates of those diseases in Canada.
We know some challenges continue. A federal vaccine registry—or lack thereof—is one example. Because each province and territory has a different system, it is challenging to get a comprehensive look at vaccination coverage in the country.
During the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, the data was standardized across the country, and the Public Health Agency of Canada is looking to build on that for other common vaccines — working with provinces and territories to outline a model that will connect differently. Vaccine registries across Canada.
And then there's the elephant south of the border. The US Senate is poised to confirm vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. If he takes the role, he has promised to investigate Discredited link Between vaccines and autism – with the blessing of President-elect Donald Trump. As vaccine skeptics begin to take a position of power in the United States, Canada must make an impact here for their actions and words.
– Jennifer Yoon
Will the federal agreement with the state improve health services?
Billions of additional health care dollars are coming to the states from the federal government Bilateral agreements Targeting four key priorities. Canadians will begin to discover in 2025 that money is having an impact on the health care they receive.
The four priorities are:
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Expanding access to primary health care.
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Enhancing the health workforce and reducing surgical and diagnostic backlogs.
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Improving access to mental health and addiction services.
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Increasing patient and provider digital access to health records.
Better data is needed to know whether the money is actually having an impact in those areas. Canadian Institute for Health Information Tracking progress. Its 2024 report, coming just a few months into the deals, primarily serves as a baseline for this data. Among its findings, one in six Canadian adults (about 5.4 million people) No access to regular health care providerssuch as a family doctor or nurse practitioner. And even those who do, the report said, often face challenges getting early appointments, especially in the evenings and on weekends.
The 2025 edition of the CIHI report will be an important test of whether any progress can be seen on those shared health priorities. Pay special attention to the figures for Access to mental health and addiction care. A 2024 report found that nearly 25 percent of Canadians with a diagnosed mental disorder are not getting the care they need. CIHI plans to report for the first time on wait times for substance use services across the country.
– Mike Crowley
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