Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
February 16, 2010
Manitoba officials plan for next H1N1 wave
By PAUL TURENNE QMI Agency
WINNIPEG -- H1N1?s second wave appears to be over in Manitoba, and health officials are now turning their attention to what to expect next from the virus.
There has been only one lab-confirmed case of H1N1 reported in Manitoba since Jan. 12, and only a handful since Christmas. That stands in stark contrast to the peak of the bug?s second wave, when Manitoba had 680 cases reported in one week in mid-November. The highest count during the first wave was 229 during a week in mid-June.
It has also been several weeks now since any patients spent time in a Manitoba intensive care unit with serious H1N1-related health problems, said Joel Kettner, Manitoba?s chief public health officer. The last H1N1 death in Manitoba occurred more than a month ago.
?For all intents and purposes the second wave has come to an end,? Kettner said. ?The question now is ?Where does that leave us?? ?
?I don?t think anyone?s in a position to make much of a prediction,? he said, noting health officials around the world are now trying to determine what to expect next from the pandemic bug.
Kettner said H1N1 may reappear later this winter or in the spring, and that it could pop up again as a seasonal flu strain next winter and possibly for a few years after that.
No one knows for sure though.
?We have to prepare for these possibilities,? Kettner said. ?The way we do that is by continuing to present the messages of general flu protection and recommending the shot.?
More than 456,000 Manitobans had received their H1N1 vaccine as of Feb. 7, and the shot is still available through doctor?s offices and various other means.
Kettner said it?s still too early to tell whether people who got their shot this year will be protected from the bug if it reappears next fall. That wouldn?t be the case with normal seasonal flu shots, but those don?t typically contain adjuvant. Most of the H1N1 shots did.
That issue will also form part of the planning over the next few months, Kettner said.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/02/16/12893111-qmi.html
Manitoba officials plan for next H1N1 wave
By PAUL TURENNE QMI Agency
WINNIPEG -- H1N1?s second wave appears to be over in Manitoba, and health officials are now turning their attention to what to expect next from the virus.
There has been only one lab-confirmed case of H1N1 reported in Manitoba since Jan. 12, and only a handful since Christmas. That stands in stark contrast to the peak of the bug?s second wave, when Manitoba had 680 cases reported in one week in mid-November. The highest count during the first wave was 229 during a week in mid-June.
It has also been several weeks now since any patients spent time in a Manitoba intensive care unit with serious H1N1-related health problems, said Joel Kettner, Manitoba?s chief public health officer. The last H1N1 death in Manitoba occurred more than a month ago.
?For all intents and purposes the second wave has come to an end,? Kettner said. ?The question now is ?Where does that leave us?? ?
?I don?t think anyone?s in a position to make much of a prediction,? he said, noting health officials around the world are now trying to determine what to expect next from the pandemic bug.
Kettner said H1N1 may reappear later this winter or in the spring, and that it could pop up again as a seasonal flu strain next winter and possibly for a few years after that.
No one knows for sure though.
?We have to prepare for these possibilities,? Kettner said. ?The way we do that is by continuing to present the messages of general flu protection and recommending the shot.?
More than 456,000 Manitobans had received their H1N1 vaccine as of Feb. 7, and the shot is still available through doctor?s offices and various other means.
Kettner said it?s still too early to tell whether people who got their shot this year will be protected from the bug if it reappears next fall. That wouldn?t be the case with normal seasonal flu shots, but those don?t typically contain adjuvant. Most of the H1N1 shots did.
That issue will also form part of the planning over the next few months, Kettner said.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/02/16/12893111-qmi.html