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Children at summer camp infected with H1N1 virus
By Luisa D'Amato, Record staff
WATERLOO REGION ? Ten to 12 children at a local summer camp were infected with the H1N1 virus last month, Waterloo Region?s associate medical officer of health said Thursday.
None of the children, aged eight to 12, left the camp while they were ill. They were mild cases and all the children recovered within a couple of days before parents and health officials even knew the diagnosis, said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang.
The number of children who fell ill was less than 20 per cent of the total number of campers.
Wang declined to name the camp. ?We don?t do that, because there?s no risk to the public,? she said.
It?s the first outbreak of this disease at a local summer camp.
The camp may not be named, but it?s not the Kitchener YMCA, one of the largest and best-known summer camp operators locally, said agency chief executive John Haddock. The Y has taken extra precautions this year.
?We take the kids? temperatures when they come to camp,? Haddock said. If the child isn?t well, he or she is sent home with a promise that the week away will be replaced once the child recovers.
?The parents are OK with that,? he said.
Across Canada, another person died of the virus Thursday, which has reached pandemic proportions. The death toll across the country is now 63 people.
Federal officials announced yesterday that the government will buy 50.4 million doses of the vaccine against the virus ? enough for every Canadian who wants to be protected.
?This investment reflects the unique circumstances of the situation as well as the gravity,? said federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
The vaccine will be manufactured in Ste-Foy, Que., by GlaxoSmithKline. It will be ready in late October or early November.
Officials aren?t sure how much of the vaccine everyone will need. Studies are still determining that some people may only need one dose, others will need two or more. Older people are less vulnerable to H1N1. The risk is higher for younger people, aboriginal Canadians, and those whose bodies are fighting other illnesses.
Wang said local health officials have been told to plan for an ?intensified? flu season this fall, with more demand for both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine, which could require more than one shot.
Discussions are continuing on how to provide the extra shots, who will give them and where clinics will be held.
But viruses are tricky, and don?t always behave the way one might expect.
Even as the health-care apparatus gears up for mass vaccines, there are signs that the tide may have turned, Wang said.
?What we?re seeing in the last few weeks is that the indicators have been dropping,? she said.
There are fewer diagnoses at doctors? offices, and fewer people being sent to hospital with the disease, she said.
Federal officials have been planning for the same possibility. If it turns out that Canadians don?t need 50.4 million doses of the vaccine, it could turn back part of the order from GlaxoSmithKline.
This would allow the company to fill other countries? orders sooner, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, head of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
ldamato@therecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/581447
By Luisa D'Amato, Record staff
WATERLOO REGION ? Ten to 12 children at a local summer camp were infected with the H1N1 virus last month, Waterloo Region?s associate medical officer of health said Thursday.
None of the children, aged eight to 12, left the camp while they were ill. They were mild cases and all the children recovered within a couple of days before parents and health officials even knew the diagnosis, said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang.
The number of children who fell ill was less than 20 per cent of the total number of campers.
Wang declined to name the camp. ?We don?t do that, because there?s no risk to the public,? she said.
It?s the first outbreak of this disease at a local summer camp.
The camp may not be named, but it?s not the Kitchener YMCA, one of the largest and best-known summer camp operators locally, said agency chief executive John Haddock. The Y has taken extra precautions this year.
?We take the kids? temperatures when they come to camp,? Haddock said. If the child isn?t well, he or she is sent home with a promise that the week away will be replaced once the child recovers.
?The parents are OK with that,? he said.
Across Canada, another person died of the virus Thursday, which has reached pandemic proportions. The death toll across the country is now 63 people.
Federal officials announced yesterday that the government will buy 50.4 million doses of the vaccine against the virus ? enough for every Canadian who wants to be protected.
?This investment reflects the unique circumstances of the situation as well as the gravity,? said federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
The vaccine will be manufactured in Ste-Foy, Que., by GlaxoSmithKline. It will be ready in late October or early November.
Officials aren?t sure how much of the vaccine everyone will need. Studies are still determining that some people may only need one dose, others will need two or more. Older people are less vulnerable to H1N1. The risk is higher for younger people, aboriginal Canadians, and those whose bodies are fighting other illnesses.
Wang said local health officials have been told to plan for an ?intensified? flu season this fall, with more demand for both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine, which could require more than one shot.
Discussions are continuing on how to provide the extra shots, who will give them and where clinics will be held.
But viruses are tricky, and don?t always behave the way one might expect.
Even as the health-care apparatus gears up for mass vaccines, there are signs that the tide may have turned, Wang said.
?What we?re seeing in the last few weeks is that the indicators have been dropping,? she said.
There are fewer diagnoses at doctors? offices, and fewer people being sent to hospital with the disease, she said.
Federal officials have been planning for the same possibility. If it turns out that Canadians don?t need 50.4 million doses of the vaccine, it could turn back part of the order from GlaxoSmithKline.
This would allow the company to fill other countries? orders sooner, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, head of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
ldamato@therecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/581447