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Mystery illness affects 15 Swelling, numbness and tingling around mouth and chin initially thought to be related to clam harvesting in Pangnirtung
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 29, 2013
PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
The cause of a recent health scare in Pangnirtung remains unknown and is still under investigation, said Dr. Maureen Baikie, the chief medical officer of health for Nunavut.
The territorial Department of Health first became aware of an issue on June 25 when several residents of the hamlet of about 1,350 people reported suffering from symptoms such as swelling of the mouth, numbness and tingling around the chin and lips, as well as itchiness and rashes.
The department issued an advisory later that day, asking residents to refrain from eating locally-harvested clams.
Fifteen residents exhibited the symptoms, which prompted the department to initiate an investigation and look for a common factor.
"We started with interviews and found out that 14 of them had recently eaten clams," Baikie said.
"One of them hadn't, but had been to an event where clams were served. We were able to obtain some of those clams and test them."
The results came back negative for any abnormal levels of toxins or bacteria, Baikie added.
After consulting with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada, an epidemiologist with the Nunavut Department of Health distributed a more detailed questionnaire to the residents who had exhibited the symptoms.
More testing is also being carried out on scallops.
"We have arranged for someone to gather more clams and scallops and once our interviews and analyses are finished, we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with," she said.
"We're also going to test the water around the area where the shellfish were harvested."
Another theory posited that capelins, small fish that spawn near the shoreline in the summer, may have had something to do with the situation.
Baikie said the issue was brought up with an expert from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, who said the fish were unlikely to be a factor.
Pangnirtung Mayor Sakiasie Sowdlooapik said people have been utilizing clams as a source of food for thousands of years, and it's too early to blame them for the mini-outbreak.
"We've been clamming in our waters and shorelines for a very long time," he said.
"I had a meeting with health officials as well as the person who came in to do additional testing. It's not proven if the symptoms were caused by clams or something else."
He added he wanted to wait until all tests were conclusive before speculating on what had caused the symptoms.
"I'm not a doctor or a researcher and I don't want to point the finger at any species in particular," he said.
"We'll keep working intelligently with health officials and communicating with each other. As a clam eater, I am very eager to get the results (of this investigation)."
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