Helen Branswell: key obituary facts
Is Helen Branswell dead? Yes. Helen Branswell died on October 13, 2026, at age 69.
Cause of death: Helen Branswell's cause of death was reported as Cancer.
What was Helen Branswell known for?
She was a Canadian infectious diseases and global health reporter.
More about Helen Branswell
Gender: female.
Occupation: journalist.
Nationality: Canada.
Education: St. Thomas University.
Employer: Stat, The Canadian Press.
Awards: Nieman Fellowship.
Career began: 1986.
Born: 1956 or 1957Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Years active: 1986–2026.
Known for: Health, Infectious Disease and Pandemic Journalism.
Helen Branswell, a Canadian infectious diseases and global health reporter, died of cancer on October 13, 2026, aged 69.
Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from St. Thomas University in 1978.
Branswell joined The Canadian Press in 1986, starting in general news and working as a political reporter and foreign correspondent. For five years she served as the agency’s London correspondent before moving into medical reporting in 2000. She described her entry into journalism as having “fallen into journalism,” noting that she had not worked on a high-school or college newspaper. During 15 years as a medical reporter at The Canadian Press, she led coverage of Ebola, Zika, SARS and swine flu. Her reporting on the 2002–04 SARS outbreak included coverage of the only real outbreak outside Asia. In 2015, Branswell joined STAT News at its founding and led the publication’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career as a journalist began in 1986, and she was a Nieman Fellow.