Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-035

Daily Brief

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

DOB06-035 - 20 February 2006

News

Transportation Safety Board rules out mechanical failure in helicopter crash
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-235, on February 20, the CBC reported that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has ruled out mechanical failure in the helicopter crash off Newfoundland 's Burin Peninsula on 7 December 2005. The TSB indicated that the investigation is continuing.
(Source: CBCNews , 20 February 2006 )
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The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is an independent agency created to advance transportation safety.

BSE detected in Alberta : Update
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-020, on February 17, the Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA) announced all cattle from the affected animal’s birth cohort have been identified and traced and no additional cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE) were detected.

CFIA also indicated that feed investigation is nearing conclusion and that a final analysis of records collected at the farm, retail and mill levels was ongoing.

CFIA will issue a report at the end of the inspection.
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 17 February 2006 )
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The CFIA provides more information on BSE in North America.

In brief

Avian Influenza: Update
On February 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the Ministry of Health in Iraq confirmed the second case of human infection of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The fatal case of a 39-year-old man was detected on January 18 and the man died on January 27. The man resided in the country’s northern province of Sulaimaniyah.

Since 2003, WHO has confirmed a total of 169 human cases with the H5N1 avian influenza, including 91 deaths.
(Source: World Health Organization , 17 February 2006 )
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The Public Health Agency of Canada provides information on avian influenza.

France and India report their first case of H5N1 avian influenza virus
On February 18, French authorities confirmed their first case of H5N1 avian influenza virus in a wild duck. The duck was found on February 13 in a bird reserve 30 kilometres northeast of Lyon .

Also on February 18, the Indian government confirmed their first case of H5N1 avian influenza virus in a chicken. The infected bird was discovered in the town of Navapur in the western part of the country.
(Source: CTV.ca , 18 February 2006 )
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Egypt confirms H5N1 virus found in birds
On February 17, the Egyptian government stated that the H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in seven birds. Four birds were found in Cairo, two in Giza next to the capital and one in Minya about 220 km south of the capital.

The Egyptian Health Ministry noted that no human cases were discovered during its testing of people living in nearby areas.
(Source: Reuters AlertNet , 17 February 2006 )
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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.