Foodborne and waterborne illness among Canadian Indigenous populations: A scoping review

Jung, Jkh; Skinner, Kelly

doi:10.14745/ccdr.v43i01a02

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Although country food is beneficial nutritionally and for ensuring food security, it can harbor chemical, physical and biological hazards sometimes harmful to human health including food-borne zoonotic parasites [5]. In the Arctic, Inuit are potentially exposed to a range of pathogens through frequent subsistence hunting and consumption of raw or undercooked animal tissues from different wildlife species [6]. Not all food-borne hazards can be observed grossly through visual inspections undertaken by hunters or even during controlled, systematic meat inspection [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in terrestrial and marine wildlife harvested for food in Nunavik, Canada

et al. 2019

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Background Toxoplasma gondii, a zoonotic protozoan parasite, infects mammals and birds worldwide. Infection in humans is often asymptomatic, though illnesses can occur in immunocompromised hosts and the fetuses of susceptible women infected during pregnancy. In Nunavik, Canada, 60% of the Inuit population has measurable antibodies against T. gondii. Handling and consumption of wildlife have been identified as risk factors for exposure. Serological evidence of exposure has been reported for wildlife in Nunavik; however, T. gondii has not been detected in wildlife tissues commonly consumed by Inuit. Methods We used a magnetic capture DNA extraction and real-time PCR protocol to extract and amplify T. gondii DNA from large quantities of tissues (up to 100 g) of 441 individual animals in Nunavik: 166 ptarmigan ( Lagopus lagopus ), 156 geese ( Branta canadensis and Chen caerulescens ), 61 ringed seals ( Pusa hispida) , 31 caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) and 27 walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus ). Results DNA from T. gondii was detected in 9% (95% CI: 3–15%) of geese from four communities in western and southern Nunavik, but DNA was not detected in other wildlife species including 20% (95% CI: 12–31%) of ringed seals and 26% (95% CI: 14–43%) of caribou positive on a commercial modified agglutination test (MAT) using thawed heart muscle juice. In geese, tissue parasite burden was highest in heart, followed by brain, breast muscle, liver and gizzard. Serological results did not correlate well with tissue infection status for any wildlife species. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report on the detection, quantification, and characterization of DNA of T. gondii (clonal lineage II in one goose) from wildlife harvested for food in Nunavik, which supports the hypothesis that migratory geese can carry T. gondii into Nunavik where feline definitive hosts are rare. This study suggests that direct detection methods may be useful for detection of T. gondii in wildlife harvested for human consumption and provides data needed for a quantitative exposure assessment that will determine the risk of T. gondii exposure for Inuit who harvest and consume geese in Nunavik.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in terrestrial and marine wildlife harvested for food in Nunavik, Canada

et al. 2019

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“…Although there are concerns that hunters of wild birds may be at an increased risk of avian influenza (29,30) , there have been no cases of avian influenza in North America reported to have resulted from exposure to wild birds (31) . Additionally, there are some concerns over foodborne illness as a result of country food consumption; however, a recent scoping review of foodborne illness in Canadian Indigenous populations did not identify any studies reporting on illnesses from bird consumption (32) . Rather, consumption of walrus, seal, caribou and whale, especially raw or fermented methods that enabled the growth of pathogens, was found to pose an increased risk of foodborne illness (32) .…”

Section: Health Considerations and Contaminant Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, there are some concerns over foodborne illness as a result of country food consumption; however, a recent scoping review of foodborne illness in Canadian Indigenous populations did not identify any studies reporting on illnesses from bird consumption (32) . Rather, consumption of walrus, seal, caribou and whale, especially raw or fermented methods that enabled the growth of pathogens, was found to pose an increased risk of foodborne illness (32) .…”

Section: Health Considerations and Contaminant Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Game bird consumption in Dene communities of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Ratelle

Haig

Laird

et al. 2021

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: Game bird consumption is an important part of the diet of Indigenous populations in Canada and, as part of country food consumption, is associated with improved nutritional status. The objective of this project was to document the consumption of game birds for Dene First Nations in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. Design: Participants were invited to complete a FFQ using an iPad to document the types of country foods consumed, as well as consumption frequency and preparation methods, including thirteen types of game birds. Setting: The project was implemented in nine communities in the Dehcho and Sahtú regions of the NWT, Canada. Participants: A total of 237 children and adult participants from Dene First Nations in the Mackenzie Valley region of the NWT took part in the current study. Results: FFQ findings indicated that game birds were frequently consumed in both Dehcho and Sahtú communities. Canada goose and mallard were found to be consumed by the largest number of participants. Five different species (including Canada goose and mallard) were found to be consumed by at least 25 % of participants over the last year. When consuming game birds, most participants reported consuming the meat as well as most, if not all, other parts of the bird. Conclusions: Differences were observed since the last country food assessment in the 1990s in the same regions. These findings increase knowledge of the current Dene diet patterns and support the understanding of diet transition.

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“…Completed cachesdroughly conical or mound-shaped, and measuring between 1.5 and 2 m in diameterdare often marked with a wooden stake (a kind of inuksuk), rendering them easier to locate on the snow-covered beaches during the darkest days of winter. The fairly strict provisions for butchery and caching were likely formulated over time to ensure the ungirlaat remained free of harmful contaminants; imprecisely cached sea-mammal resources can result in a number of foodborne illnesses, including botulism and trichinellosis (see Jung and Skinner, 2017 for a review of the recent literature on foodborne illness among Canada's Indigenous peoples).…”

Section: Recent-historic and Contemporary Amitturmiut Walrus Hunting And Cachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neo-Inuit strategies for ensuring food security during the Little Ice Age climate change episode, Foxe Basin, Arctic Canada

Desjardins

2020

Quaternary International

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This paper examines Neo-Inuit (ca. AD 1250 to present) responses to the decreased temperatures of the Little Ice Age (LIA) climate change episode (ca. AD 1300e1900) in the Foxe Basin region of central Nunavut, Arctic Canada. Cooler temperatures (and increased sea ice) would be expected to have reduced both bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) and Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) habitats, forcing Neo-Inuit to refocus their hunting activities on landfast-ice-dwelling small seals (e.g., Pusa hispida) during winter months. However, an analysis of faunal remains from Foxe Basin's largest-known Neo-Inuit (Thule, historic and modern Inuit) archaeological site, Pingiqqalik (NgHd-1), reveals a longterm subsistence economy based largely on multi-seasonal walrus hunting. Two interrelated factors may explain these results: (1) a system of recurring polynyas provided a degree of ecological stability for local walrus populations, and (2) the development of a distinctive walrus caching regimeda form of which continues among the region's contemporary Inuitdallowed residents to adeptly exploit an ecological niche, thereby ensuring food security. Together, these factors likely insulated northern Foxe Basin Neo-Inuit from the worst effects of the LIA.

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Foodborne and waterborne illness among Canadian Indigenous populations: A scoping review

Abstract: Background: Indigenous populations are often at higher risk for foodborne illness than the general Canadian population.

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in terrestrial and marine wildlife harvested for food in Nunavik, Canada

Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in terrestrial and marine wildlife harvested for food in Nunavik, Canada

Game bird consumption in Dene communities of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Neo-Inuit strategies for ensuring food security during the Little Ice Age climate change episode, Foxe Basin, Arctic Canada

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