Health System Updates — January 16, 2026
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National Syphilis Treatment Shortage Extended
As we noted last week, there is a national shortage of long-acting penicillin G (Bicillin® L‑A), and providers are asked to restrict its use to specific categories of patients. The shortage is now expected to last until January 30, 2026, two weeks longer than previously anticipated.
Learn more in the latest Public Health memo to health care providers.
Invasive Meningococcal Disease Outbreak
Public Health officials are enlisting physicians’ help to encourage Manitobans to check their vaccine eligibility for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) and ensure patient vaccinations are up to date. A severe outbreak continues in the Northern Health Region, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities.
Resources for providers:
Measles Update
Morden’s Garden Valley Fitness Centre, Winkler’s C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre and St. Pierre-Jolys’ Centre médico-social De Salaberry District Health Centre are the latest measles exposure sites in Manitoba. We’re keeping track of resources for physicians on our Doctors Manitoba Measles Update page.
CaRMS Interview Period
The National Interview period for the first iteration of the 2026 R1 Residency match will run from January 17 to February 8, 2026, ahead of Match Day on March 3. During this time, we ask physicians to check in with medical students, show interest in their goals and share your personal experience of what they’re going through now.
❤️ How you can help: Keep an eye out for distress and burnout, and encourage students to check out resources available to them through student affairs at Bannatyne Campus and Doctors Manitoba’s Doc360 health and wellness resources.
Bio-Rad Instrument Implementation
Shared Health Diagnostic Services transfusion medicine testing sites across the province of Manitoba have begun transitioning testing methodologies for the determination of red cell group typing, antibody detection, and identification from solid phase to gel column agglutination technology with the Bio-Rad IH-500 and Saxo-ID instruments.
The first implementation went live at the Westman Lab in Brandon on Tuesday, and the remaining testing sites in the NRHA region will follow in the upcoming months.
Manitoba Drug Benefits
The government is updating its lists of Drug Benefits and Drug Interchangeability Formulary with various amendments that are set to take place on February 1 and May 1.
Read the Bulletin and learn more here.
Swan River School Bus Accident
The driver of a school bus and 14 students on board were taken to hospital early Monday after the bus rolled over on an icy highway near Mafeking. Four passengers had “significant but non-life-threatening injuries.” Doctors Manitoba extends our deepest gratitude to the many emergency responders, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who responded to patients with great care and dedication. We join Shared Health in our relief that the incident did not result in more serious injuries.