Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-233

Daily Brief

The PSEPC Daily Brief is a compilation of summaries of publicly available and PSEPC information concerning critical infrastructure protection and emergency management.

DOB05-233 - 6 December 2005

News

No bird flu risk to consumers from properly cooked poultry and eggs
On December 5, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement to clarify food safety issues in relation to the current avian influenza crisis. According to the FAO/WHO statement, chicken and other poultry are safe to eat if cooked properly. To date, there is no epidemiological evidence that people have become infected after eating contaminated poultry meat that was properly cooked.
(Source: World Health Organization, 5 December 2005)
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Independent report on Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Toronto
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-203, on December 5, an independent panel of experts released a report on the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Toronto’s Seven Oaks Home for the Aged. The investigation concluded that patients received proper care. The report made several recommendations for improving the response to future outbreaks, including addressing shortfalls in testing and staffing. A cooling tower on the roof of the nursing home was identified as the most likely source of the disease.
(Source: CTV.ca, December 5, 2005)
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In brief

CN freight train derails north of Vancouver
On December 5, seven empty cars on a CN Rail train went off the track in the Cheakamus River canyon north of Vancouver, the third accident in the area this year. A CN Rail spokesperson stated that there were no injuries and no dangerous goods involved in the derailment.
(Source: cnews, December 5, 2005)
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Cyber risk assessment

Over the course of the past 24 hours, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) has not detected any significant new threats or vulnerabilities.  No significant incidents with the potential to affect critical infrastructure have been reported.  Accordingly, based on the information available to CCIRC, the cyber risk facing Canadian critical infrastructure is assessed as low.  Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to apply appropriate security precautions and monitor their systems.

Recent cyber alerts and advisories issued by CCIRC can be viewed under “Recent analytical releases” at www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc.

See also...

• The Weather Office
• FAC - Travel Updates

Note to readers

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and incidents involving, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows us to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.

Any suspected criminal activity should be reported to local law enforcement organizations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Operations Centre (NOC) provides a 24/7 service to receive such reports or to redirect callers to local law enforcement organizations. The NOC can be reached at (613) 993-4460. National security concerns should be reported to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) at (613) 993-9620.

Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Some hyperlinks in the PSEPC Daily Brief direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act. Users should be aware that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.