Re: New Brunswick reports seven deaths from swine flu with many of them in last week
Five more people die from H1N1
Published Friday November 27th, 2009
Doctor says people who died had existing medical conditions
By ADAM BOWIE
Health officials are encouraging patients with chronic illnesses to protect themselves from the H1N1 virus after news that five more New Brunswickers have died - each with pre-existing medical conditions.
That brings the total number of deaths related to the pandemic virus to seven in N.B.
Of those cases, four were men, three were women. Two were in their 40s, two were in their 50s and three were over 60 years of age.
Each person had an underlying medical condition that put them at an increased risk of complications from an influenza infection.
Dr. Eilish Cleary, chief medical officer of health, said the province expected to see hospitalizations and deaths occur in connection with the H1N1 virus, but it's still hard to hear about the passing of those citizens.
"Death in any age group is concerning, but younger people dying prematurely is a significant concern," she said.
About 157 New Brunswickers have been hospitalized by the pandemic virus - 25 of those cases required a stay in an intensive care unit.
Cleary said 17 of those most serious cases involved people with existing medical conditions.
When asked whether the province could have done more to protect residents with chronic conditions, she said a shortage of the vaccine made that impossible.
"We would have liked to have been able to vaccinate everybody earlier. It was not possible given the fact that we had vaccine coming in tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands of doses," she said.
"We have, since the beginning, said we wanted to target all priority groups, and it was a matter of how we could best use the vaccine that we had. And we actually didn't stop targeting any priority groups, although we did target them in different ways."
Cleary said focusing on children in the early phase of the vaccination program likely cut the spread of the disease considerably, which would have also helped protect the entire population.
"I'm comfortable that we got out all of the vaccine that we did, as quickly as we could, to priority group members.
"I'm also comfortable that predominantly focusing on children probably has bought us a bit of time because we would have decreased the intensity of the spread," she said.
"They're the people who spread it mostly in the early stages of a pandemic, or any influenza activity. Certainly, if we'd had more vaccine, it would have been better."
Barbara Walls, director of health initiatives for the New Brunswick Lung Association, said the H1N1 virus poses specific problems for people with chronic illnesses, specifically those with lung conditions.
"Because it's a respiratory virus and actually goes to the lower lobes of the lung, it's definitely difficult to treat if you become seriously ill," she said.
"Anybody with respiratory lung problems, such as (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma, (and others), are recommended to protect themselves fully.
"People should be talking to their doctors about whether they'd be advised to get the seasonal (flu) shot, and the pneumonia (shot)."
About 220,000 New Brunswickers have been vaccinated to date.
The province received 108,000 doses of the protective shot last week, and expects a shipment of another 62,000 doses to arrive in the next seven days.
Cleary said the virus is making the rounds in all parts of the province, although the number of confirmed cases has declined in the past few weeks.
She said that's partly because of new guidelines for physicians who order tests, and a greater awareness in the general public about when to seek medical attention for flu-like symptoms.
"We can see that the effect of the vaccination is having an impact because two weeks later we're seeing a decrease in activity," she said.
"School absenteeism is going down. We know that influenza consultation rates are going down. We know that visits to emergency rooms are going down."
Cleary said that doesn't mean people should become complacent as hospitalizations and deaths will continue as flu activity declines.
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/871009
