FrenchieGirl
Senior Moderator
Alberta pigs said to be infected with flu
The Canadian Press
May 2, 2009 at 4:32 PM EDT
OTTAWA ? The Canadian Press has learned federal officials are set to announce the swine flu virus is believed to have infected pigs in Alberta.
A government source says the animals were thought to be infected by a farm worker who had recently been to Mexico and fell ill upon his return.
This may be the first time this particular swine flu virus has been found in pigs.
The H1N1 virus, which is made up of swine flu genes, is believed to have jumped to humans some time back and has been passing person to person.
The World Health Organization has insisted there is no evidence that pigs are passing the virus to humans, or that eating pork products poses an infection risk.
Genetic testing shows the pigs in Alberta were infected with the same virus responsible for cases in California, Mexico and other countries around the world.
Official confirmation of the pigs' infection is expected at a news conference scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization dropped the term ?swine flu? ? a nickname that angered pork producers and led to a drop in pork sales ? in favour of its scientific name: ?H1N1 influenza A.?
Meanwhile, Canada's swine flu caseload swelled Saturday as health officials confirmed a host of new cases in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Quebec.
Public health officials say Nova Scotia has 17 new cases of swine flu, as jurisdictions across Canada are starting to report the widening spread of the illness.
Robert Strang, chief medical officer of Nova Scotia, said at a news conference Saturday that of the new cases in the province 11 are students who were exposed to the virus at the private King's Edgehill school in Windsor, N.S.
The other six were tested in doctors' offices in the Halifax area, suggesting the virus has jumped from being isolated in a small town to Atlantic Canada's most densely populated city.
There are now 31 cases in Nova Scotia, making it the province with the largest number of confirmed cases in the country.
Meanwhile, seven new cases have been reported in Alberta, doubling that province's count to 15 and pushing the latest national total to 82 cases.
Two women, one man and a girl became Edmonton's first to come down with the disease. One woman and a boy were also diagnosed with swine flu in northern Alberta.
Another woman in Calgary has also come down with the disease.
None of the cases have required hospitalization, said Alberta Health.
Dr. Strang says he is uncertain whether any of those infected in Halifax had contact with students from the private school, or if they contracted the illness from other sources.
He says further tests are needed, and he'll know more in a few days.
?This is not a surprise. We fully expected to see more cases, as I've been saying all week. We also expected it would spread beyond King's Edgehill school,? said Dr. Strang, after announcing the new numbers.
He added there have been no reports that any of the people with the flu have been hospitalized.
Though he emphasized that to date most cases are mild, he also urged Canadians to be cautious.
?I ask people to be extra vigilant and to take precautions around general hygiene. That means washing hands thoroughly and often, coughing and sneezing into your sleeve and disinfecting tables and worktops,? he said.
Meanwhile, new cases have also been confirmed in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
Health officials in Quebec confirmed the province's second case of the flu strain known as H1N1.
Provincial health authorities are expected to release more details at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. Quebec's first case was confirmed in Montreal earlier this week.
A notice posted Friday on the website of B.C.'s Centre for Disease Control says the province's confirmed caseload now stands at 19.
All the B.C. cases have been mild and the patients have either recovered or are recovering.
The new Canadian cases came as the WHO announced it will release 2.4 million anti-viral doses to 72 countries.
The federal government, meanwhile, has expanded its swine-flu prevention campaign to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with a new ?citizen-readiness campaign.?
The Canadian Press
May 2, 2009 at 4:32 PM EDT
OTTAWA ? The Canadian Press has learned federal officials are set to announce the swine flu virus is believed to have infected pigs in Alberta.
A government source says the animals were thought to be infected by a farm worker who had recently been to Mexico and fell ill upon his return.
This may be the first time this particular swine flu virus has been found in pigs.
The H1N1 virus, which is made up of swine flu genes, is believed to have jumped to humans some time back and has been passing person to person.
The World Health Organization has insisted there is no evidence that pigs are passing the virus to humans, or that eating pork products poses an infection risk.
Genetic testing shows the pigs in Alberta were infected with the same virus responsible for cases in California, Mexico and other countries around the world.
Official confirmation of the pigs' infection is expected at a news conference scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization dropped the term ?swine flu? ? a nickname that angered pork producers and led to a drop in pork sales ? in favour of its scientific name: ?H1N1 influenza A.?
Meanwhile, Canada's swine flu caseload swelled Saturday as health officials confirmed a host of new cases in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Quebec.
Public health officials say Nova Scotia has 17 new cases of swine flu, as jurisdictions across Canada are starting to report the widening spread of the illness.
Robert Strang, chief medical officer of Nova Scotia, said at a news conference Saturday that of the new cases in the province 11 are students who were exposed to the virus at the private King's Edgehill school in Windsor, N.S.
The other six were tested in doctors' offices in the Halifax area, suggesting the virus has jumped from being isolated in a small town to Atlantic Canada's most densely populated city.
There are now 31 cases in Nova Scotia, making it the province with the largest number of confirmed cases in the country.
Meanwhile, seven new cases have been reported in Alberta, doubling that province's count to 15 and pushing the latest national total to 82 cases.
Two women, one man and a girl became Edmonton's first to come down with the disease. One woman and a boy were also diagnosed with swine flu in northern Alberta.
Another woman in Calgary has also come down with the disease.
None of the cases have required hospitalization, said Alberta Health.
Dr. Strang says he is uncertain whether any of those infected in Halifax had contact with students from the private school, or if they contracted the illness from other sources.
He says further tests are needed, and he'll know more in a few days.
?This is not a surprise. We fully expected to see more cases, as I've been saying all week. We also expected it would spread beyond King's Edgehill school,? said Dr. Strang, after announcing the new numbers.
He added there have been no reports that any of the people with the flu have been hospitalized.
Though he emphasized that to date most cases are mild, he also urged Canadians to be cautious.
?I ask people to be extra vigilant and to take precautions around general hygiene. That means washing hands thoroughly and often, coughing and sneezing into your sleeve and disinfecting tables and worktops,? he said.
Meanwhile, new cases have also been confirmed in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
Health officials in Quebec confirmed the province's second case of the flu strain known as H1N1.
Provincial health authorities are expected to release more details at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. Quebec's first case was confirmed in Montreal earlier this week.
A notice posted Friday on the website of B.C.'s Centre for Disease Control says the province's confirmed caseload now stands at 19.
All the B.C. cases have been mild and the patients have either recovered or are recovering.
The new Canadian cases came as the WHO announced it will release 2.4 million anti-viral doses to 72 countries.
The federal government, meanwhile, has expanded its swine-flu prevention campaign to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with a new ?citizen-readiness campaign.?
