N.S. woman dies after contracting H1N1

[Ronan Kelly]

N.S. woman dies after contracting H1N1

By JEFFREY SIMPSON Staff Reporter
Mon. Nov 9 - 4:05 PM


Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer, packs up his notes following a recent technical briefing with the media, concerning the progress of the H1N1 immunization program. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff / File)

A woman in her 50s from northern Nova Scotia died on Friday from H1N1-related complications, the province's second casualty of the so-called swine flu pandemic.

Nova Scotia health officials announced at a briefing today that the woman was from the Guysborough-Antigonish- Strait health district with underlying health conditions, but did not give any further details.

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They said they released the information today because they wanted to give her family a chance to grieve.

The death is the first in this province from the second wave of the H1N1 flu.

Nova Scotia's first H1N1-related fatality came this past July. Annette Sampson of L'Ardoise, Richmond County, fell ill with swine flue in late June.

Officals at the time said she also had underlying chronic diseases, though no specifics were released.

She was also in her 50s.

Also, a six-year-old boy from New Brunswick was airlifted on the weekend to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax suffering severe H1N1 symptoms.

Meanwhile, about 25 per cent of people showing up at hospital emergency rooms in the Capital Health district report having flu symptoms, prompting officials to consider opening more H1N1 assessment centres.

Dr. Brendan Carr, vice-president of medicine at Capital Health, said the two assessment clinics in Halifax and Dartmouth are doing much to alleviate the strain on health care services; they saw about 500 people a day last week and 300 a day on the weekend.

Of that number, about five to 10 people a day were referred to secondary medical treatment, Dr. Carr said.

That's prompted health care officials to keep an eye on whether two centres are enough in the area. It's even more likely another assessment centre will open in Hants County, where about half of the people arriving at emergency rooms have had flu symptoms.

?The emergency department is coping fine at this time,? Dr. Carr told a news conference Monday.

Dr. Carr was part of a media briefing held to highlight what people should do if they have certain flu symptoms.

A telltale sign of H1N1 is severe chest pain. People should go directly to emergency if they have that symptom or others including a fever more than 38.5 degrees for more than three days, severe or persistant vomiting, confusion or disorientation and severe shortness of breath. Parents should watch to see if their children aren't eating or drinking enough, being irritable or not urinating for more than 12 hours.

John Gillis, a spokesman with Capital Health, said about 10 to 15 are now in hospital with H1N1 in the district.

?Some of them are in intensive care,? he said.

?I couldn't tell you whether their lives are at risk or anything like that.?

(jsimpson@herald.ca)

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9013987.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: N.S. woman dies after contracting H1N1

N.S. records 2nd swine flu death

Last Updated: Monday, November 9, 2009 | 8:55 PM AT

CBC News

A Nova Scotia woman in her 50s has died from H1N1-related complications, health officials announced Monday.

The patient had underlying health conditions and lived in the Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority district, said Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief public health officer. She died on Friday after spending several days in the intensive care unit of an Antigonish hospital.

Her death marks the second H1N1-related casualty in Nova Scotia and the first in the current wave of the pandemic.

Annette Sampson, who died in July, was the province's first recorded death linked to the swine flu virus. She was also in her 50s and had underlying medical conditions.

"I have said many times, H1N1 and seasonal influenza are serious diseases, and unfortunately we do see deaths from them," said Strang.

"We certainly expect to see ? again, unfortunately ? more deaths related to H1N1 as this pandemic plays its course out."

Despite the news, people under the age of 65 with chronic medical conditions are currently not eligible to be vaccinated in Nova Scotia.

Strang said another 52,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine are expected to arrive in the province this week and health officials are deciding who will be inoculated next.

Only pregnant women, children between the ages of five months and 59 months, people under the age of 19 with chronic health conditions, First Nations communities and health-care workers are currently being immunized.

"As we get more vaccine we're looking to open up their eligibility as soon as possible," said Strang. "We've had to make some tough choices based on the epidemiology, who's at risk, but also how much vaccine."

Strang said decisions about who can get the vaccine do not depend solely on how the swine flu is affecting people in Nova Scotia.

"Our numbers are small, and we could actually make the wrong decisions based on one or two cases," he said. "We need to look at the epidemiology from a larger population and make decisions.

"I don't deny that certainly, people under 65 are one of the risk groups."

Decision chart

Meanwhile, provincial health officials unveiled a decision chart on Monday designed to help people figure out what action to take if they're sick.

Anyone with severe chest pain, severe shortness of breath, vomiting and a fever greater than 38.5 C for more than three days is urged to visit an emergency room or call 911.

The chart says children who are failing to eat or drink enough, being irritable and not urinating for 12 hours should also go to an emergency room.

"The hope is that through this decision chart, with the information we're able to present, ? for people ? [to] apply it to their situation and to understand for themselves and their family where the best place is for them to go," said Dr. Ken Buchholz, a physician adviser with the Department of Health.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/11/09/ns-swine-flu-death.html