Calgary: Children's hospital unit quarantined because of swine flu outbreak

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/07/07/swine-flu-childrens-hospital-calgary.html


Children's hospital unit quarantined because of swine flu outbreak
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 | 7:11 PM MT
CBC News

Officials have isolated a unit on the third floor of the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary because of three swine flu cases.

The hospital has stopped admitting new patients to the unit, which usually treats children with kidney problems, because one staff member and two children are confirmed to have swine flu, said Don Stewart, a spokesman with Alberta Health Services, on Tuesday.

Patients already there have been isolated, and only their parents or close family are being allowed to visit them.

The unit has been contained, and infection prevention control measures are underway, added Stewart.

Alberta has registered more than 1,000 cases of swine flu since the influenza outbreak began in Mexico in March.

On Monday, health officials confirmed the death of an Edmonton-area woman with chronic pre-existing medical conditions as the second fatality in the province associated with swine flu.

Every year, 4,000 Canadians die from the flu and a high percentage of them have underlying conditions that play a large part in making them susceptible to complications associated with the flu, he said.

 

[hornblower]

Re: Calgary: Children's hospital unit quarantined because of swine flu outbreak

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Swine+hits+Alta+children+hospital/1770692/story.html

Swine flu hits Alta. children?s hospital

CALGARY ? An outbreak of swine flu at the Alberta Children?s Hospital has forced health officials to isolate sick patients as they rush to contain the spread of the new virus.


Provincial health board officials said late Tuesday there were three confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, in two children and a staff member at the Calgary hospital, who sources said was a nurse.


A third young patient has a suspected infection and Alberta Health Services was testing several staff for the virus, although officials didn?t have information on how many health workers were undergoing tests.


Dr. Richard Musto, medical officer of health for the Calgary area, said he believes the children acquired the influenza while they were in hospital.


Although none of the cases is life threatening, he said it?s important to stop the spread of the virus.


?Clearly, if they are in hospital they are already sick and we don?t want to add to that,? Musto said.


?We don?t want to introduce this virus or any other infection to the hospital setting.?


Alberta Health Services said the two patients and a staff member became sick with respiratory symptoms over the weekend, leading officials to place the children on isolation.


Hospital officials have since restricted access to the affected ward ? a 24-patient unit that mostly houses patients with kidney problems and neurological conditions.

Under the restrictions, only staff and parents are allowed to see patients on the ward.


Staff who were exposed to the infected patients or their sick colleague have started taking the preventive therapy Tamiflu, an antiviral drug, and tests are underway to see if any other workers have contracted the virus.


Musto said it?s likely a staff member or visitor contracted the virus and brought it into the hospital.


In total, Alberta has confirmed 1,145 cases of the H1N1 virus.


Calgary Herald

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Calgary: Children's hospital unit quarantined because of swine flu outbreak

Swine flu virus hits 2nd Calgary hospital worker
Up to 100,000 Albertans have unknowingly beat virus: doctor
Last Updated: Friday, July 10, 2009 | 8:28 PM ET

A second staff member at the Alberta Children's Hospital is recovering from the swine flu virus that struck two patients and another worker in the same unit.

The staff member developed respiratory problems before being diagnosed, Dr. Richard Musto, medical officer of health for the Calgary, said Friday.

The third-floor unit remains in isolation, and only parents or guardians are allowed to visit.

oth staff members with the illness are being treated at home, and the two patients are quarantined in private rooms.

The news comes one day after a young Calgary woman died with the virus, the city's first death related to swine flu.

Doctors could not explain how that woman contracted the virus, which can lead to serious complications including pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Alberta has recorded three deaths linked to the H1N1 virus, which originated in Mexico earlier this year. The other two were women in the Edmonton area and in northern Alberta who had pre-existing medical problems.
Many people already immune

Dr. Jim Dickinson, head of the Alberta Influenza Surveillance Team, said many aspects of the virus are still unknown, including why it is continuing to infect Canadians in the summer when the flu normally slows.

"It could get worse or it may not because quite a lot of people in the community now have already had this, many with hardly any illness at all," he said Friday.

"So many people are already immune to this disease by now. So maybe it might die out in the fall or it might get a whole lot worse and, unfortunately, we can't predict that."

Dickinson estimated as many as 100,000 Albertans have already had swine flu and didn't realize it.

"For the vast majority of people it is mild, and we shouldn't lose sight of that. While it is affecting a few people, for the vast majority of people, it is really no different than any of the other flus. But what we need to do is find out who gets it bad and why."

Alberta is hoping to have a vaccination for H1N1 ready by the end of October, with priority given to those with chronic illnesses and to babies.

Of the 37 total H1N1-related deaths reported in Canada, 90 per cent of the victims had an underlying medical problem, Canada's public health agency said Friday. There have been more than 1,200 reported H1N1 cases in Alberta.