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Inuit swine flu cases on average younger than those elsewhere: PHAC
By Helen Branswell Medical Reporter (CP) ? 1 day ago
TORONTO ? The median age of swine flu cases among Inuit people is significantly younger than that among other Canadians, new data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada shows.
The median age of Inuit cases is nine, half the median for First Nations cases (19 years) and non-aboriginal Canadians (18 years), the agency said Friday in its weekly influenza update, FluWatch.
The report offered no theory as to why the median age - the halfway point between the youngest and oldest cases - of Inuit cases is lower than other groups.
But the agency said the answer may lie in the demographics of the region.
"Nunavut has a young population compared to the Canadian population," the agency said in an emailed response to questions about the differences.
"It has also had a greater number of young children infected with the H1N1 flu virus."
The report said of Canada's 10,156 confirmed cases, 151 have been identified as First Nations people, 30 have been Metis and 390 have been from Nunavut, which has a predominantly Inuit population.
To date there is no evidence of Tamiflu resistance among pandemic viruses in Canada, FluWatch said. It reported that 255 viruses had been tested for resistance to that key flu drug. As well, 100 have been tested for resistance to Relenza, the other flu drug that works against these viruses; there was no sign of resistance to Relenza.
So far all pandemic viruses tested in Canada - and elsewhere - have been resistant to two older flu drugs, amantadine and rimantadine.
The report said 11 per cent of laboratory confirmed cases have been hospitalized so far. But it's important to put that figure in context: Confirmed cases represent only the tip of the iceberg of all pandemic flu cases, the vast majority of which don't require medical care and therefore don't come to the attention of authorities.
Fourteen per cent of hospitalized patients - 156 people - have been sick enough to require admission to an intensive care unit, and as of Friday 46 people in Canada have died from infection with the new H1N1 virus.
As has been noted elsewhere, pregnant women have a rough time when infected with the pandemic virus. Of 22 confirmed cases among pregnant women, 18 or 82 per cent needed to be hospitalized and three (14 per cent) required ICU care. One pregnant woman has died in Canada to date.
Of hospitalized cases for whom data were available, the median age was 21 years and 37 per cent had at least one pre-existing medical condition. Those included lung disease including asthma (138 cases), diabetes (75 cases), suppressed immune systems (56 cases), chronic heart disease (51 cases) and kidney disease (26 cases).
The median age of people admitted to the ICU with severe H1N1 infections was 31 and 35 per cent of them had at least one underlying medical condition.
Of those fatal cases for which data were available, the median age was 44 and 55.3 per cent were women. Forty per cent of these deaths were in people with at least one health problem.
<!-- google_ad_section_end(name=article) --> Copyright ? 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Inuit swine flu cases on average younger than those elsewhere: PHAC
By Helen Branswell Medical Reporter (CP) ? 1 day ago
TORONTO ? The median age of swine flu cases among Inuit people is significantly younger than that among other Canadians, new data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada shows.
The median age of Inuit cases is nine, half the median for First Nations cases (19 years) and non-aboriginal Canadians (18 years), the agency said Friday in its weekly influenza update, FluWatch.
The report offered no theory as to why the median age - the halfway point between the youngest and oldest cases - of Inuit cases is lower than other groups.
But the agency said the answer may lie in the demographics of the region.
"Nunavut has a young population compared to the Canadian population," the agency said in an emailed response to questions about the differences.
"It has also had a greater number of young children infected with the H1N1 flu virus."
The report said of Canada's 10,156 confirmed cases, 151 have been identified as First Nations people, 30 have been Metis and 390 have been from Nunavut, which has a predominantly Inuit population.
To date there is no evidence of Tamiflu resistance among pandemic viruses in Canada, FluWatch said. It reported that 255 viruses had been tested for resistance to that key flu drug. As well, 100 have been tested for resistance to Relenza, the other flu drug that works against these viruses; there was no sign of resistance to Relenza.
So far all pandemic viruses tested in Canada - and elsewhere - have been resistant to two older flu drugs, amantadine and rimantadine.
The report said 11 per cent of laboratory confirmed cases have been hospitalized so far. But it's important to put that figure in context: Confirmed cases represent only the tip of the iceberg of all pandemic flu cases, the vast majority of which don't require medical care and therefore don't come to the attention of authorities.
Fourteen per cent of hospitalized patients - 156 people - have been sick enough to require admission to an intensive care unit, and as of Friday 46 people in Canada have died from infection with the new H1N1 virus.
As has been noted elsewhere, pregnant women have a rough time when infected with the pandemic virus. Of 22 confirmed cases among pregnant women, 18 or 82 per cent needed to be hospitalized and three (14 per cent) required ICU care. One pregnant woman has died in Canada to date.
Of hospitalized cases for whom data were available, the median age was 21 years and 37 per cent had at least one pre-existing medical condition. Those included lung disease including asthma (138 cases), diabetes (75 cases), suppressed immune systems (56 cases), chronic heart disease (51 cases) and kidney disease (26 cases).
The median age of people admitted to the ICU with severe H1N1 infections was 31 and 35 per cent of them had at least one underlying medical condition.
Of those fatal cases for which data were available, the median age was 44 and 55.3 per cent were women. Forty per cent of these deaths were in people with at least one health problem.
<!-- google_ad_section_end(name=article) --> Copyright ? 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
