NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (November 15, 2022) – The detection of carfentanil in Hay River has prompted the Chief Public Health Officer to issue a public health advisory regarding the dangers associated with illicit drugs in the Northwest Territories.

Carfentanil is one of the most toxic opioids known, with studies showing it is 10,000 times more toxic than morphine, 4,000 times more toxic than heroin, and 100 times more toxic than fentanyl.  Reversing carfentanil may require more than one dose of naloxone.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (October 25, 2022) – The Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) is issuing a public health advisory regarding the potential for a severe respiratory virus season in the NWT.

This Advisory is to notify the public that the OCPHO is beginning to see lab confirmed cases of RSV in young children, more severe respiratory presentations and hospitalizations in young children under 5 and the NWT has now seen its first lab confirmed case of influenza.