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Editor, Senior Moderator
One child sparked Montreal outbreak
By Charlie Fidelman,
Gazette Health Reporter
September 22, 2009 9:04 PM
*Montreal?s H1N1 flu outbreak started with one case ? a child from the West Island who returned from vacation in Mexico.
Six weeks later, the virus had marched across the island to the eastern tip, infecting primarily lower-income neighbourhoods.
?We were able to map all the confirmed cases because we had access to postal codes for each case,? said Richard Lessard, director of the Montreal Public Health Department which Tuesday released data tracking the flu?s progression from April to September.
The swine flu killed 12 people and sickened 1,280 in Montreal ? accounting for nearly half of all cases in Quebec ? since it arrived here this spring.
Information gleaned from the data should help contain the next epidemic, Lessard said, because Montreal is now better prepared: ?Now we know how the virus is behaving.?
The data show that the virus strikes more severely in lower-income areas of the city.
?The quality of air in the house, mold, second-hand smoke, they may live closer to a highway,? Lessard said of living conditions that can lead to chronic health issues ?and that put them more at risk of developing complications from even mild disease.?
It also hit women more frequently and more severely than men.
About 56 per cent of the 1,280 declared cases were women. Once hospitalized, women were twice as likely as men to develop complications or die.
But no one is spared. One in five people hospitalized had no risk factors or underlying condition for developing complications, Lessard said.
The second wave of swine flu expected to hit Quebec this fall should be ?the same kind of epidemic and probably more severe,? Lessard said. ?It?s only a guess at this point but about 15 per cent more cases.?
Quebec expects to roll out its mass, voluntary, free vaccine program for all as of November 15.
?We recommend vaccination because it works,? Lessard said. ?Why wait to get complications from the disease if we can avoid it altogether??
Priority will be given people with chronic illness age 65 and younger, pregnant women, children six months to five years, health workers, and those living in residences and isolated communities.
It?s still not clear whether Quebec is planning to vaccinate against two strains of influenza ? H1N1 as well as the seasonal flu ? and which type of swine flu inoculation will be used for children.
?The new prevalent virus that?s around now is the H1N1,? Lessard said. ?So it?s the top priority right now.?
But each virus affects different segments of the population, Lessard said. In healthy folks, swine flu seems to infect people age 5 to 59 and pregnant women, while the seasonal flu traditionally is riskier for the elderly.
According to the World Health Organization, there?s no sign that the current H1N1 has mutated into a more severe strain.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/child+sparked+Montreal+outbreak/2021447/story.html
By Charlie Fidelman,
Gazette Health Reporter
September 22, 2009 9:04 PM
*Montreal?s H1N1 flu outbreak started with one case ? a child from the West Island who returned from vacation in Mexico.
Six weeks later, the virus had marched across the island to the eastern tip, infecting primarily lower-income neighbourhoods.
?We were able to map all the confirmed cases because we had access to postal codes for each case,? said Richard Lessard, director of the Montreal Public Health Department which Tuesday released data tracking the flu?s progression from April to September.
The swine flu killed 12 people and sickened 1,280 in Montreal ? accounting for nearly half of all cases in Quebec ? since it arrived here this spring.
Information gleaned from the data should help contain the next epidemic, Lessard said, because Montreal is now better prepared: ?Now we know how the virus is behaving.?
The data show that the virus strikes more severely in lower-income areas of the city.
?The quality of air in the house, mold, second-hand smoke, they may live closer to a highway,? Lessard said of living conditions that can lead to chronic health issues ?and that put them more at risk of developing complications from even mild disease.?
It also hit women more frequently and more severely than men.
About 56 per cent of the 1,280 declared cases were women. Once hospitalized, women were twice as likely as men to develop complications or die.
But no one is spared. One in five people hospitalized had no risk factors or underlying condition for developing complications, Lessard said.
The second wave of swine flu expected to hit Quebec this fall should be ?the same kind of epidemic and probably more severe,? Lessard said. ?It?s only a guess at this point but about 15 per cent more cases.?
Quebec expects to roll out its mass, voluntary, free vaccine program for all as of November 15.
?We recommend vaccination because it works,? Lessard said. ?Why wait to get complications from the disease if we can avoid it altogether??
Priority will be given people with chronic illness age 65 and younger, pregnant women, children six months to five years, health workers, and those living in residences and isolated communities.
It?s still not clear whether Quebec is planning to vaccinate against two strains of influenza ? H1N1 as well as the seasonal flu ? and which type of swine flu inoculation will be used for children.
?The new prevalent virus that?s around now is the H1N1,? Lessard said. ?So it?s the top priority right now.?
But each virus affects different segments of the population, Lessard said. In healthy folks, swine flu seems to infect people age 5 to 59 and pregnant women, while the seasonal flu traditionally is riskier for the elderly.
According to the World Health Organization, there?s no sign that the current H1N1 has mutated into a more severe strain.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/child+sparked+Montreal+outbreak/2021447/story.html
