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Objectives: Since 2004, a surveillance system provides counts, almost in real time, of the number of deaths per day occurring on the Island of Montreal. The validity of this monitoring tool and its ability to detect spikes in daily deaths, such as can occur due to heat waves, have been evaluated., Method: Comparison of the number of deaths per day recorded in the monitoring system with the number of deaths per day recorded in the official record of deaths in Quebec for 134 days of 2004., Results: The monitoring system is accurate (for over 73% of days, the difference in the number of deaths between the two files falls within a range of +/-3 deaths given an average of 43 deaths per day). The system identifies more than 80% of all deaths and is efficient in identifying days with excess deaths that are 20% above the average., Discussion: This novel monitoring system, based on data used mainly for management of medical services, meets contemporary public health requirements in terms of early detection of unusual health events.

In the course of the "1998 Health and Social Survey", questions were included to verify the prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases and also of wheezing. The objectives of this study were 1) to verify the prevalence of wheezing and its validity as an indicator of chronic respiratory diseases in Québec; and 2) to examine the relationship between chronic respiratory diseases and some of their potential determinants. A total of 30,386 individuals participated in the study. For all ages, the prevalence of wheezing was 5.4%. It was associated with asthma, allergies, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. A low familial income and tobacco smoking were associated with wheezing, asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Passive smoking was associated with wheezing whereas the presence of carpets was associated with wheezing and asthma. Between 32 and 48% of families with an asthmatic or an allergic member modified their dwelling to alleviate respiratory problems. The prevalence of wheezing documented here was lower than in anglosaxon countries. This result could be explained by a cultural factor (the French translation or the perception of wheezing). This study emphasizes the role of reducing tobacco smoking in the prevention of chronic respiratory diseases.