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Virus worries health officials
Posted By ANN LUKITS
Posted 2 hours ago
Canadian health officials are growing increasingly concerned over the number of young, healthy individuals who are dying from the new H1N1 virus, a Kingston specialist says.
"We are ... worried that we are seeing some young people -- people without underlying illnesses -- who are dying from it," said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease expert at Kingston General Hospital.
"We know from biology that (the virus) has the potential to change and that's the part we have to stay vigilant about."
A sixth case of H1N1 -- or "swine flu" -- was confirmed yesterday in a Kingston man in his mid-20s. Public health officials are working to establish a possible link between the man and the five other individuals from this area who have contracted the new influenza virus.
Only one of the six has required hospital care -- a woman in her 50s who arrived in the KGH emergency department late last week. Evans said he was the physician who admitted her to hospital but he could not comment on her condition, except to say that health workers are taking "respiratory droplet precautions" in her presence.
Evans said he recognized immediately that the woman was exhibiting the symptoms of influenza and had her tested for H1N1 only because she had other health issues that complicated her treatment. The H1N1 virus is virtually the only flu bug circulating in the community right now, so doctors are advised to be on the lookout for flu symptoms, though Evans said it's not necessary to test every patient.
"If you've got influenza symptoms, testing (for swine flu) is probably not worthwhile because that's what it's going to be," Evans said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement yesterday saying he is "very concerned" about the spread of the new virus, particularly in Manitoba's remote northern communities. Of the province's 460 cases of H1N1, more than a quarter are from First Nations communities.
Some aboriginal leaders have declared a state of emergency and appealed to the army for help.
According to the World Health Organization, Canada has 6,457 confirmed flu cases, just slightly fewer than Mexico, which has 7,847. The United States has reported 28,000 cases of swine flu but health officials estimate the true number of U. S. cases at one million. Twenty-one people in Canada have died from swine flu.
Evans said that the deaths of nine people in the Montreal area are of particular concern. Some of the nine suffered from chronic heart and lung problems, which doctors commonly refer to as "underlying health conditions," but some younger victims were perfectly healthy, he said.
A six-year-old girl from the Peel Region, who died earlier this week from swine flu, is among 21 Canadians who have died from the new influenza virus. She had no obvious underlying health problems, either.
While there's no evidence the virus has mutated and is posing more of a risk to certain individuals, "it may be there are specific things about this strain" that make some people sicker than others, Evans said.
"This may be a more serious illness in some individuals than what seems to have been the general case around the planet."
Evans stressed that he doesn't want to scare people but the evidence suggests the H1N1 virus has an unpredictable side. A vaccine against the new strain is expected to be available by October.
People aged 60 and over are believed to have some immunity to the H1N1, possibly because they were exposed to an earlier strain of the virus.
Evans said he often wonders what the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic would look like if it could be tracked using today's sophisticated technology. The new influenza strain is "percolating along," he noted, perhaps waiting until people are back indoors before exhibiting its nastier side.
The infectious-disease doctor speculated that people who have contracted the virus and developed a milder form of flu may reduce their chances of getting sick again, if and when the bug doubles back in the fall.
If that happens, hospitals and the federal and provincial governments have a healthy stockpile of anti-viral medications with a long shelf life.
"Normally, at this time of year, we should be seeing zero flu," Evans said, "but it's out there for sure." It's important that people try not to panic, he said, but "keep themselves aware of what's going on."
Virus worries health officials
Posted By ANN LUKITS
Posted 2 hours ago
Canadian health officials are growing increasingly concerned over the number of young, healthy individuals who are dying from the new H1N1 virus, a Kingston specialist says.
"We are ... worried that we are seeing some young people -- people without underlying illnesses -- who are dying from it," said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease expert at Kingston General Hospital.
"We know from biology that (the virus) has the potential to change and that's the part we have to stay vigilant about."
A sixth case of H1N1 -- or "swine flu" -- was confirmed yesterday in a Kingston man in his mid-20s. Public health officials are working to establish a possible link between the man and the five other individuals from this area who have contracted the new influenza virus.
Only one of the six has required hospital care -- a woman in her 50s who arrived in the KGH emergency department late last week. Evans said he was the physician who admitted her to hospital but he could not comment on her condition, except to say that health workers are taking "respiratory droplet precautions" in her presence.
Evans said he recognized immediately that the woman was exhibiting the symptoms of influenza and had her tested for H1N1 only because she had other health issues that complicated her treatment. The H1N1 virus is virtually the only flu bug circulating in the community right now, so doctors are advised to be on the lookout for flu symptoms, though Evans said it's not necessary to test every patient.
"If you've got influenza symptoms, testing (for swine flu) is probably not worthwhile because that's what it's going to be," Evans said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement yesterday saying he is "very concerned" about the spread of the new virus, particularly in Manitoba's remote northern communities. Of the province's 460 cases of H1N1, more than a quarter are from First Nations communities.
Some aboriginal leaders have declared a state of emergency and appealed to the army for help.
According to the World Health Organization, Canada has 6,457 confirmed flu cases, just slightly fewer than Mexico, which has 7,847. The United States has reported 28,000 cases of swine flu but health officials estimate the true number of U. S. cases at one million. Twenty-one people in Canada have died from swine flu.
Evans said that the deaths of nine people in the Montreal area are of particular concern. Some of the nine suffered from chronic heart and lung problems, which doctors commonly refer to as "underlying health conditions," but some younger victims were perfectly healthy, he said.
A six-year-old girl from the Peel Region, who died earlier this week from swine flu, is among 21 Canadians who have died from the new influenza virus. She had no obvious underlying health problems, either.
While there's no evidence the virus has mutated and is posing more of a risk to certain individuals, "it may be there are specific things about this strain" that make some people sicker than others, Evans said.
"This may be a more serious illness in some individuals than what seems to have been the general case around the planet."
Evans stressed that he doesn't want to scare people but the evidence suggests the H1N1 virus has an unpredictable side. A vaccine against the new strain is expected to be available by October.
People aged 60 and over are believed to have some immunity to the H1N1, possibly because they were exposed to an earlier strain of the virus.
Evans said he often wonders what the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic would look like if it could be tracked using today's sophisticated technology. The new influenza strain is "percolating along," he noted, perhaps waiting until people are back indoors before exhibiting its nastier side.
The infectious-disease doctor speculated that people who have contracted the virus and developed a milder form of flu may reduce their chances of getting sick again, if and when the bug doubles back in the fall.
If that happens, hospitals and the federal and provincial governments have a healthy stockpile of anti-viral medications with a long shelf life.
"Normally, at this time of year, we should be seeing zero flu," Evans said, "but it's out there for sure." It's important that people try not to panic, he said, but "keep themselves aware of what's going on."