New provincial health officer will draw on infectious disease experience to battle overdose crisis

British Columbia's next provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, assumes the role amid a challenging opioid crisis but says she plans to draw on her experience with infectious diseases outbreaks to deal with it.

She will replace Dr. Perry Kendall who is retiring Jan. 31 after nearly20 years on the job and become the first female provincial health officer.

Over her career, Henry has tackled outbreaks of infectious diseases including polio, Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H7N9 bird flu and the Zika virus.

She has also held several directorial positions at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

"How we respond to major overdoses is very similar to how we are responding to infectious disease crises," she toldCBCEarly EditionhostStephen Quinn.

"We take what we've learned from those in terms of a structure that can be set up and making sure that we have different operational groups and that it is a coordinated response."

Long-term strategy

Unlike many outbreaks that can be largely contained in a matter of months, the overdose crisis will likely last years, she said.

"We need a process that allows us to sustain that response over time and not get complacent about the number of deaths that we're seeing," Henry said.

More than 1,900 people across the province have died of illicit drug overdoses since a public health emergency was declared nearly two years ago.

"By looking at the deaths that we are seeing and the numbers of overdoses, clearly we need to do more," she said.

Henry has served as the deputy provincial health officer since 2014 and worked closely with current provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall on a number of strategies to target the opioid deaths.

"We need to do better at having treatment options and having them available in communities," she said. "We need to look at our drug policy overall so that we can reduce the stigma on people who are using drugs."

With files from The Early Edition.