Warburton, who is from Canada, said his symptoms, which felt similar to COVID, first started in March 2023. He had body aches, fatigue, headaches, and felt awful. But things escalated quickly.

Before long, he was sweating heavily and struggling to breathe.

Eventually, doctors placed him on life support, and he was later diagnosed with hantavirus.

He ended up spending about three weeks in the hospital. Even after making it through, he said he had never experienced anything that severe in his life.

Over in Germany, another survivor, Christian Ege, went through something similar back in 2019. At first, he thought he just had a bad stomach bug or some kind of flu after dealing with vomiting, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms for several days.

Things became much more serious after his blood test results came back and he was hospitalized. He eventually developed kidney failure and sepsis and had to spend time in the ICU, receiving dialysis.

Christian later said the sepsis was the scariest part of the whole experience.

Both men are now sharing their stories as health officials deal with a rare hantavirus outbreak connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

So far, three passengers from the ship have died after the vessel left Argentina about a month ago.

The cruise operator confirmed that three passengers, including a British man, were evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment earlier this week.

The British passenger, identified as Martin Anstee, is reportedly stable. His wife later said the last few days had been extremely stressful and that his condition had fluctuated.

Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed that two people from the UK are isolating at home after being potentially exposed to the virus.

The MV Hondius is currently travelling towards the Canary Islands, after spending several days near Cape Verde.

Hantavirus itself isn’t just one disease but a whole family of viruses, and is named after a river in South Korea. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 20 different types.

In most cases, the virus spreads through contact with rodent droppings or urine, especially when dried particles become airborne.

Lorne believes he caught it after shaking out a rug in his attic that likely had mouse droppings on it.

Christian’s case may also have been linked to rodents. Investigators later found a positive sample in his garden, and his son had apparently discovered a dead mouse there shortly before he became sick.

There’s currently no widely used vaccine or dedicated antiviral treatment for hantavirus, so doctors mainly focus on supportive care like oxygen, respiratory support, and intensive hospital treatment.

For Lorne, recovery was long and frustrating.

Even after leaving the hospital, he said it took about a year and a half before he started feeling normal again.

Fortunately, Christian eventually made a full recovery after about four months, and did not have any lasting health problems from the ordeal. Still, he said the recovery process took much longer than he expected, and the dialysis treatment was extremely tough.

The post Hantavirus Survivor Says Illness Felt “Like Hell on Earth” appeared first on Gazette Review.

The flight attendant is currently being kept in isolation at Amsterdam UMC. According to reports, she is only experiencing mild symptoms so far.

Health officials confirmed that she’s now being tested for hantavirus.

The Dutch woman who died had been briefly on board a KLM flight at O.R. Tambo International Airport on April 25.

After boarding, airline staff noticed that she was unwell and asked her to leave the plane.

The flight later left for Amsterdam that same night, and the now-hospitalized flight attendant had been working onboard that plane.

Dutch health authorities are now trying to get into contact with everyone who was on that flight. They are also advising passengers to monitor themselves for possible symptoms.

According to health officials, hantavirus symptoms can take anywhere from a few days to as long as two months to appear, though most people start showing signs within a few weeks.

The outbreak itself appears to be connected to the cruise ship Hondius.

So far, three passengers have died, including the Dutch woman and her husband.

Her husband had also died earlier this month after becoming sick onboard the ship.

At first, it was believed to be some kind of respiratory illness.

The situation escalated after another passenger, a British national being treated in intensive care in Johannesburg, tested positive for hantavirus.

After that result came back, the Dutch woman was also tested posthumously and was confirmed to have the same virus.

Officials said both cases involved the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, which is unusual because it can spread from person to person.

The most common type of hantavirus is normally transmitted via rodent urine or droppings instead.

According to the World Health Organization, there are now seven confirmed hantavirus cases tied to the Hondius outbreak, including the three deaths.

Health authorities are now working to safely remove the remaining passengers from the ship.

Three people were evacuated earlier this week; two arrived Wednesday night and were taken to hospitals in Leiden and Düsseldorf, while another passenger landed Thursday morning.

One of the evacuated patients in Düsseldorf is believed to be a 65-year-old German woman related to one of the people who died. Emergency officials said she was stable and not showing symptoms.

Another patient, a British crew member named Martin Anstee, was taken to Leiden University Medical Center. So far, he has showed no symptoms but remain in isolation.

A third passenger, believed to be a 41-year-old Dutch man, arrived at Schiphol Airport on Thursday morning and was met by ambulances.

Officials haven’t shared where he’s being treated.

Meanwhile, the British passenger who first tested positive remains in intensive care in South Africa.

A Swiss national with symptoms was also hospitalized in Zurich, while that person’s partner is self-isolating just to be on the safe side.

Around 150 people are still onboard the Hondius, including about 10 Dutch passengers. The ship left the coast of Cape Verde and is currently heading toward Tenerife, where it’s expected to arrive on Saturday.

Passengers who are not showing symptoms are expected to disembark once the ship docks.

The post KLM Flight Attendant Hospitalized After Contact With Hantavirus-Infected Cruise Passenger appeared first on Gazette Review.

Andrew Beckham had adopted his husky, Maverick, while stationed in Spain more than a decade ago.

When the Colorado Air National Guard told him he would be deployed for three months, he wanted to make sure Maverick could stay at home where he felt comfortable instead of being boarded somewhere.

Beckham ultimately chose to hire a sitter from TrustedHousesitters.com.

On the site, he connected with Andrew Jansen, who also goes by Andy. Jansen, who is from the Miami area, reportedly told Beckham he was interested in spending time in Colorado to see if he might want to live there.

At first, everything seemed normal. Beckham was getting messages and photos of Maverick while he was overseas, but about a month into the deployment, the updates suddenly stopped.

Then on April 2, home security footage appeared to show Jansen leaving in Beckham’s Subaru with Maverick inside.

After that, nobody heard from him again, though investigators were later able to track the vehicle leaving the area using Flock camera systems.

The military eventually allowed Beckham to return home early so he could help search for Maverick and his car. Friends, neighbors, and people online all joined in, sharing posts and putting up flyers in hopes of finding the dog safe.

Sadly, the search ended on Saturday after the vehicle was found in Denver.

According to Beckham’s family, Maverick had died while trapped inside the car.

Beckham later shared an emotional message online saying he was devastated by the loss and wanted privacy after learning Maverick had been found dead.

The Aurora Police Department confirmed the Subaru Forester was located on North Logan Street and that Maverick’s body was discovered inside the vehicle.

Police are still trying to find Jansen. Authorities have issued felony warrants accusing him of vehicle theft and general theft, and investigators are asking anyone with information about where he may be to come forward.

Beckham said the cellphone Jansen was using is now offline and that it hasn’t hit cell towersw since April 2.

The post Dog Taken During Colorado Airman’s Deployment Found Dead appeared first on Gazette Review.

Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder back on April 7 right as the trial began.

After nearly three weeks of testimony, a Texas jury handed down the death sentence on Tuesday.

The decision will automatically be reviewed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Jurors had to choose between life in prison without parole or the death penalty; prosecutors pushed for execution and presented key evidence, including an audio recording from inside Horner’s FedEx van during the attack.

Investigators also spoke to the jury about Horner’s confession, the search efforts for the child, and how her body was eventually found.

According to case documents, Horner was delivering packages in Paradise in November 2022 when he kidnapped Athena Strand.

Prosecutors said he took her into his truck and later killed her.

During closing arguments, the district attorney described the case as one of the most severe types of crimes, the kind that qualifies for the harshest punishment under the law.

Prosecutors also suggested Horner had been thinking about committing something like this beforehand.

The defense took a different approach, asking the jury to spare his life. They brought up details about his background, including a difficult childhood, an autism diagnosis, exposure to high levels of lead, and ongoing mental health issues.

They argued that he wouldn’t pose a threat if kept in prison for life, but the jury ultimately didn’t agree.

When the sentence was read, emotions in the courtroom were intense.

Family members of Athena were visibly devastated.

Athena’s uncle spoke directly to Horner, saying the crime didn’t just take a life but completely shattered their family.

Horner will now be transferred to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a maximum security prison, in West Livingston, where death row inmates are held.

A date for his execution hasn’t been set yet.

The post Fedex Driver Who Killed Seven-Year-Old Sentenced to Death appeared first on Gazette Review.

The incident happened Sunday night near Arcadia Lake, a popular spot for swimming and boating just outside Oklahoma City.

Police said the gathering wasn’t officially approved, though it attracted a large group of people.

Authorities are still trying to track down the person who was responsible for the incident.

So far, no arrests have been made. At least three of the injured individuals are in critical condition, however, it has not been confirmed exactly how many people were shot.

One person who was at the park said around 250 people showed up. He said things started to fall apart after a group of girls got into an argument over relationships, which quickly escalated.

Eventually, tensions grew and panic spread through the crowd; people were running in different directions as shots were fired for several minutes.

The witness said he ran toward the lake to get away and later realized two of his friends had been shot.

In total, at least 18 people were sent to hospitals around the area. Patients ranged from teenagers to adults in their late 20s, and several were brought in in serious or critical condition.

Police believe the party had been promoted on social media, which explains why so many people showed up to the event. According to a flyer that was promoted online, the party was called Sunday Funday and involved food and music.

The mayor later said you’re supposed to reserve the park for big gatherings, but in this case, no one actually did.

Local officials say they’re now looking into ways to tighten rules around park use and improve safety measures moving forward.

Emergency crews took some victims to the hospital, while others got there on their own.

One hospital in the area said it treated more than a dozen people, with several still hospitalized,
including some who remained in critical condition.

Another hospital also received a handful of patients.

Arcadia Lake is usually known for outdoor activities like camping, and fishing; it also plays a role in supplying water to the nearby city of Edmond.

It’s not the first time something tragic has happened at the lake either. Back in 1986, several people lost their lives in a major workplace shooting.

Over the same weekend, there was also another separate shooting in Amarillo, where two teens were killed and several others injured after gunfire broke out at an apartment complex early Saturday.

The post Manhunt for Suspect Who Opened Fire In Oklahoma Lakeside Party appeared first on Gazette Review.

The incident happened around 11 p.m. near Wimberley, which is about 40 miles southwest of Austin. According to officials, the plane went down in a wooded area, and everyone on board, including the pilot and four passengers, died at the scene.

Authorities haven’t released the victims’ names yet, but the Amarillo Pickleball Club said the people on board were members who were traveling to a tournament.

The Cessna 421C had left Amarillo and was heading toward New Braunfels National Airport. Images from the scene showed the plane badly damaged among trees.

People living near the area recalled how intense it felt. One resident said they were at home when they heard the crash; everything then shook around them. The force was so strong, they initially thought their own property might be on fire.

The group had been on their way to a pickleball event at The Cranky Pickle.

After the news, organizers decided to cancel Friday’s tournament and instead planned to take a moment to honor the victims before resuming play the next day.

Those involved in the sport said the community is very close, so the loss has hit especially hard.

The president of the Amarillo Pickleball Club shared that he personally knew most of the people on board and had played with them many times.

He described them as dedicated players who regularly traveled to compete.

Interestingly, another plane had also been heading to the same event from Amarillo at the same time, but that one landed safely in New Braunfels.

Air traffic control recordings later revealed that the crashed plane had started behaving unpredictably before disappearing from radar.

Not long afterwards, its emergency locator signal was also triggered.

Weather conditions in the area were mostly cloudy before the crash, with a thunderstorm moving through a couple of hours later, according to officials.

Both Wimberley and New Braunfels are popular spots for visitors in the Texas Hill Country, making the incident even more shocking for the local community.

The post Plane carrying Pickleball Players Crashes, Killing All Five On Board appeared first on Gazette Review.

Tasha Coates, who lives in Georgetown, relies on the toll highway for her daily commute to work. She travels to Richmond Hill five days a week.

When her February bill came in, she was shocked to see it totaled about $1,760.

Discounts and promotions helped bring the amount down to around $1,200, but it was still a huge amount.

In an interview, she said that skipping the toll road isn’t really an option for her. Without it, her commute would stretch to roughly four hours a day. She said before, her monthly costs used to be around $1,200. In recent months, however, they have recently climbed much higher.

Earlier this year, toll rates went up on some of the busiest parts of the highway, with increases of up to 34 cents per kilometre for light vehicles.

The company behind the highway had previously said most regular drivers would only see a small bump in their monthly costs, but that hasn’t been her experience.

Because she’s often driving during peak traffic times, the cost can spike to around $1 per kilometre.

For her, that works out to about $50 each way, or $100 a day just to get to and from work.

Traffic on the free routes is bad enough that avoiding the toll road would add at least two extra hours to her day, which is why she keeps using it despite the cost.

She’s been using the promotions offered by the highway, and they’ve definitely helped. In just a few months, they have saved her hundreds of dollars. Even with the discounts, however, she still feels the regular price is just way too high.

The company that runs the highway says toll rates are reviewed once a year and are designed to balance traffic flow while offering a faster, more reliable drive.

They also pointed out that frequent users like her often benefit the most from discounts, and in her case, those savings have added up to a significant percentage over time.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government already removed tolls from the publicly owned eastern stretch of the 407 last year, which has helped some drivers save money.

Coates believes people using the privately operated western portion could use similar relief.

She feels many families are dealing with the same issue and avoid the highway altogether because of the high costs.

For now, the 407 ETR continues to promote its discount programs, including options aimed at lower-income drivers that can offer a limited number of free trips each month.

The post Ontario Woman Hit With $1700 407 Toll Bill Calls Rates Too High appeared first on Gazette Review.

The lawyer, Jay Edelson, is based in Chicago and has handled several wrongful death cases involving OpenAI. He said this particular case stands out as the most serious his firm has dealt with.

He’s acting as U.S. co-counsel for victims and their families, who filed multiple wrongful death lawsuits in California.

In total, there are seven related cases, all accusing OpenAI of failing to alert authorities, which contributed to what happened.

The shooting itself happened on February 10, when 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed eight people before taking her own life.

After the incident, OpenAI acknowledged that its staff had noticed concerning behavior from her through interactions with ChatGPT before the attack. However, they didn’t report it to police.

The company later apologized publicly for that decision.

The lawsuits include several victims and family members. One of them is 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who survived but suffered a serious head injury, along with the father of Abel Mwansa Jr., another 12-year-old who was killed.

The legal team representing the families, Rice Parsons Leoni & Elliott LLP, said part of the reason they filed the cases in California is because Canadian laws limit how much compensation families can receive.

In British Columbia, damages for pain and suffering are capped, and in some situations families of children who were killed may not be able to claim compensation at all under provincial laws.

Altman’s apology came after it was revealed that OpenAI had flagged the shooter’s account months earlier but didn’t notify law enforcement.

However, not everyone has accepted the apology.

Cia Edmonds, the mother of Maya Gebala, criticized the company’s response and felt that failing to alert police put the community at risk.

She also questioned the sincerity of Altman’s apology as it came across as impersonal.

The victims and their families say OpenAI knew about the situation but chose not to tell police, because adding stronger safety measures could potentially hurt the company’s business.

They also said shutting down the shooter’s account didn’t really solve anything, as the user could just make a new account.

OpenAI later acknowledged that Jesse Van Rootselaar had actually made another account as the one he initially used was banned.

The post Tumbler Ridge Shooting Families Seek $1B+ From OpenAI In Lawsuit appeared first on Gazette Review.

The approval for the drug, a semgalutide injection, came Tuesday. After reviewing the available data, Health Canada said it met the same standards for safety, effectiveness, and quality as the original.

Dr. Dasgupta, a professor and physician-scientist from McGill said these medications are usually very expensive, so having a generic option will help make the drug more accessible.

Both patients and doctors have been waiting a long time for a generic version of Ozempic, which is widely used for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss.

According to surveys, millions of Canadian adults are already using GLP-1 medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro, and many more are interested but can’t afford them.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient, has also been getting attention beyond diabetes and weight loss. For example, researchers have been looking into whether it could help with things like alcohol or opioid addiction.

Health Canada said the new generic works the same way as the brand-name version and is used once weekly to help adults with Type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar.

Officials say generics can be anywhere from about 45 to 90 percent cheaper than brand-name drugs; this would make a noticeable difference for both patients and the healthcare system.

For years, Novo Nordisk held the patent on semaglutide in Canada, but that protection expired back in January. Since then, there’s been a lot of anticipation around when the generics will enter the market.

Right now, most insurance plans only cover Ozempic for diabetes, not for weight loss.

This means those who are using it for weight management are usually paying out of pocket, and it’s not cheap; the drug costs anywhere from $300 to $400 a month, sometimes even higher depending on the dose.

Experts say prices could drop even further once more generics are approved.

An expert from the University of Toronto explained that having at least two more generic options could push costs down to around $100 or less per month, depending on the dosage.

That kind of price drop would open the door for more people to access these treatments, especially those currently paying out of pocket.

That said, doctors are also reminding people that semaglutide isn’t something to take casually. It’s still a prescription medication and should be used under proper medical guidance.

So far, it’s not yet clear when this specific generic will be available in pharmacies.

Health Canada also mentioned that several other generic versions are currently under review, with decisions expected in the coming weeks and months.

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