Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Conflicting messages add to confusion over H1N1
point of view
Posted 11 hours ago
Depending on which doctor you listen to, the H1N1 flu outbreak is all but a flash in the pan, or it's regrouping for a second wave to sweep across the country.
From our eastern Ontario medical officers of health were got this message this week:
Dr. Richard Schabas said Thursday the outbreak peaked seven to 10 days ago, and statistics now show visits to hospital emergency rooms and absence from school in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties are returning to normal levels.
"It's dropping off rapidly. We can expect to see the same pattern across all of southern Ontario over the next week or two," Schabas said in a joint statement issued by the health units of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District.
"We're confident that this is the real thing," said Dr. Anne Carter, medical officer of health for the eastern unit. "The end is clearly in sight."
On the same day, from Canada's senior ranking physician we heard this:
Hospital admissions, intensive-care unit transfers and deaths from swine flu are three times higher this week than last, says Canada's chief public health officer.
Dr. David Butler-Jones said the H1N1 virus is surging across the country, with the western provinces, the territories and Newfoundland and Labrador hit particularly hard.
"We expect to hear of more illness and deaths in the coming weeks as we go further into the second wave," Butler-Jones said Thursday.
And, warned Butler-Jones, anyone who thinks the virus is on the wane -- and we assume that means our local public health officials -- should think again.
"Anybody that thinks that we've seen anything but the beginning of this, I think it would be lovely, but it's a bit of wishful thinking," Butler-Jones said. "This will continue to increase."
Schabas, who has famously been a downplayer of most major outbreak warnings, seems downright blas? about the whole thing by now.
"It's not at all clear to me that healthy members of the general public really need to be immunized once the outbreak is over," he said in an interview with The Intelligencer, "but it (vaccines) certainly will be available to anyone who wants it.
"I expect that once the outbreaks across southern Ontario drop off ... that a lot of the public interest in the vaccine is going to drop off as well."
Either we're on the precipice of another wave of serious illness or we're going to yawn and move on to the next media-hyped crisis, seem to be the messages.
Little wonder there's confusion.
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2165393
point of view
Posted 11 hours ago
Depending on which doctor you listen to, the H1N1 flu outbreak is all but a flash in the pan, or it's regrouping for a second wave to sweep across the country.
From our eastern Ontario medical officers of health were got this message this week:
Dr. Richard Schabas said Thursday the outbreak peaked seven to 10 days ago, and statistics now show visits to hospital emergency rooms and absence from school in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties are returning to normal levels.
"It's dropping off rapidly. We can expect to see the same pattern across all of southern Ontario over the next week or two," Schabas said in a joint statement issued by the health units of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District.
"We're confident that this is the real thing," said Dr. Anne Carter, medical officer of health for the eastern unit. "The end is clearly in sight."
On the same day, from Canada's senior ranking physician we heard this:
Hospital admissions, intensive-care unit transfers and deaths from swine flu are three times higher this week than last, says Canada's chief public health officer.
Dr. David Butler-Jones said the H1N1 virus is surging across the country, with the western provinces, the territories and Newfoundland and Labrador hit particularly hard.
"We expect to hear of more illness and deaths in the coming weeks as we go further into the second wave," Butler-Jones said Thursday.
And, warned Butler-Jones, anyone who thinks the virus is on the wane -- and we assume that means our local public health officials -- should think again.
"Anybody that thinks that we've seen anything but the beginning of this, I think it would be lovely, but it's a bit of wishful thinking," Butler-Jones said. "This will continue to increase."
Schabas, who has famously been a downplayer of most major outbreak warnings, seems downright blas? about the whole thing by now.
"It's not at all clear to me that healthy members of the general public really need to be immunized once the outbreak is over," he said in an interview with The Intelligencer, "but it (vaccines) certainly will be available to anyone who wants it.
"I expect that once the outbreaks across southern Ontario drop off ... that a lot of the public interest in the vaccine is going to drop off as well."
Either we're on the precipice of another wave of serious illness or we're going to yawn and move on to the next media-hyped crisis, seem to be the messages.
Little wonder there's confusion.
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2165393