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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.

Purpose: To examine the occurrence and outcome of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ophthalmologic infections in a newborn intensive care unit cohort., Design: Noninterventional case series., Methods: Over a 13-month period, 29 neonates were colonized with methicillin-resistant S. aureus in a newborn intensive care unit outbreak. Patients were followed prospectively during the course of colonization and infection. The frequency and type of ophthalmologic infection was recorded, and patients were treated according to clinical need., Results: Eleven of these patients were found to have purulent conjunctivitis. No serious ocular disease ensued in any of these. Spontaneous resolution occurred in some patients, while others improved after either topical or systemic antibiotic treatment., Conclusion: Despite invasive infection caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus, serious ophthalmologic infection was not found.