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2009 swine flu pandemic in Canada

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Main article: 2009 swine flu outbreak

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Cases by province/territory
Province/territory Cases Deaths
Laboratory
confirmed 		Suspected‡ Attributed
(confirmed)‡
Totals 13 22 0
Ontario 4[1] 10[2] 0
Nova Scotia 4[3] 3 0
British Columbia 3[3] 0 0
Alberta 2[4] 0 0
Saskatchewan 0 4[5] 0
Prince Edward Island 0 5[6] 0
‡ Not all cases have been confirmed as being due to this strain.
Possible cases are cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) that have
not been confirmed through testing to be due to this strain.

Template:WebSlice-end In March and April 2009, an outbreak of a new strain of influenza commonly referred to as "swine flu" infected many people in parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The new strain was identified as a combination of several different strains of Influenzavirus A, subtype H1N1, including derivatives of this subtype circulating in humans (see Human influenza) and in pigs (see Swine influenza). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)[7] have expressed serious concerns that the novel strain, which transmits between humans and which has had a relatively high mortality rate in the possible and confirmed Mexican cases, has the potential to become a flu pandemic. Thirteen cases have been confirmed in Canada; four in Nova Scotia, four in Ontario, three in British Columbia and two in Alberta. Several other suspected cases in Montreal, Quebec have been confirmed not to be swine flu.[8]

Cases

  Confirmed cases
  Unconfirmed or suspected cases

Nova Scotia's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Strang, said on April 26 that the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirmed late the previous day that four people in the province between the ages of 12 and 18 were recovering from "relatively mild" cases of the disease. The four attend King's-Edgehill School preparatory school in Windsor, Nova Scotia; and one of the four infected students had been on a recent school trip to the Yucatan Peninsula.[9][10]

The cases in British Columbia involved two young men aged 25–35 from the B.C. Lower Mainland who had recently come back from Mexico, according to Dr. Danuta Skowronski, head of flu and respiratory illnesses at the BC Centre for Disease Control, run by the provincial government. The cases were discovered by normal flu testing conducted by the disease control center after the men had visited a doctor about flu-like symptoms. Skowronski said the two men had been asked to "self-isolate" themselves but had not officially been quarantined. He noted the disease seemed "widespread" in Mexico and should not be mistaken by tourists to be linked only with urban Mexico City.[3]

Alberta's chief medical officer, Dr. Andre Corriveau , said on April 28 that they confirmed two men had "mild cases" of the disease and that the illness wasn't severe enough to require the men to be hospitalized.[4]

As of April 27, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island were investigating a number of suspected cases.[5][2][6] Furthermore, there is evidence that the disease is spreading beyond the first four Nova Scotia cases, as friends and relatives are starting to show symptoms. Robert Strang indicated that he expects the diseases to spread to the rest of Nova Scotia within a few weeks.[11]

As of April 28, 2009, there are 4 confirmed cases of swine flu in the Greater Toronto Area;[1] three cases in Durham Region and the fourth in York.[12] So far, there are no confirmed cases within the city of Toronto itself. Two cases were confirmed in Alberta one in Calgary and another in Northern Alberta.[13]

Response

Dr. Michael Gardam, director of infectious disease prevention and control at the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, said in an interview with the CBC that an outbreak of swine flu in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, would not be as serious as the 2003 SARS epidemic.[14] In preparing for and dealing with an influenza pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada follows the WHO's categories, but has expanded them somewhat.[15] Despite initial reports of two swine influenza cases in Montreal's Lakeshore General Hospital, Johanne Simard of the Montreal Regional Health Board confirmed negative results for all quarantined patients at the hospital and that no quarantines were currently in effect at the hospital.[16] The national laboratory in Winnipeg confirmed cases of human swine influenza virus in clinical specimens sent from Mexico for Mexico[17] and the Canadians government issues a travel advisory for Mexico, warning Canadians who have returned from the country of the sever respiratory illness. [18]

On April 26, the Government of Nova Scotia announced on a live webcast that four students in Windsor, Nova Scotia have confirmed cases of swine flu.[19] Later that day, the Federal Government confirmed the existence of a total of six cases in Canada; four in Nova Scotia and two in British Columbia. Federal Health minister Leona Aglukkaq said the Canadian federal government would take whatever measures were necessary to keep the public safe, and that as Canada continued to ramp out its surveillance efforts there would likely be more reported cases. She also said she had been in contact with her provincial and territorial counterparts and had ordered the Public Health Agency of Canada to alert border authories, quarantine officers and other officials.[20] However, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, stated that the six affected Canadians suffered from only mild symptoms and have already started to recover. However, Butler-Jones warned against complacency, stating that the fact that only mild cases have been reported so far "doesn’t mean we won’t see either some more severe illness or potentially deaths."[21] In both provinces, the cases either involved people who had recently returned from Mexico or those in close contact with such people.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Canadian province of Ontario has 4 swine flu cases". Reuters. 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  2. ^ a b "Ontario probes suspected swine flu cases amid pandemic fears". CBC News. 2009-04-27. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessed= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b c Ebner David (26 April 2009). "Swine flu confirmed in Canada". The Globe and Mail.
  4. ^ a b "Two cases of swine flu confirmed in Alberta". CTV Media. 2009-04-28.
  5. ^ a b "Swine Flu Fear Spreads; Four suspected cases in Saskatchewan". News Talk 980 CJME. 2009-04-27. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessed= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b "Suspected swine flu cases on P.E.I. drop from eight to five". The Guardian. 2009-04-28. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessed= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "CDC Press Briefing Transcripts April 24, 2009". CDC. 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
  8. ^ Staff Writer (April 25, 2009). "Two released from quarantine at Lakeshore General". ctvmontreal.ca. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  9. ^ "Flu Update, Sunday, April 26, 2009" (Press release). King's-Edgehill School. April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  10. ^ "Health officials confirm 6 cases of swine flu in Canada". CBC News. 26 April 2009.
  11. ^ "Swine flu symptoms spreading beyond Windsor, N.S., campus". Cbc.ca. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  12. ^ "Province confirms four cases of swine flu in Toronto area". CityPulse 24 News. 2009 April 28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Alberta confirms 2 cases of swine flu". CBC. April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  14. ^ Ljunggren David, Anderson Scott (24 April 2009). "Swine flu not as serious as SARS: Canada's Ontario". Reuters.
  15. ^ "The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector". Public Health Agency of Canada.
  16. ^ "Swine-flu fears at Lakeshore General unfounded". The Gazette (Montreal). 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
  17. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/24/health-flu-mexico090424.html
  18. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/23/respiratory-illness-flu-mexico.html
  19. ^ "Health officials confirm swine flu in Canada". The Canadian Press. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  20. ^ Staff Writer (April 26, 2009). "6 cases of swine flu confirmed in Canada: health officials". CBC News. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  21. ^ Brennan Richard J (April 26, 2009). "Swine flu confirmed in Canada : Unlike deadly outbreak in Mexico, the cases in Nova Scotia and B.C. were mild and didn't require hospitalization". Toronto: The Star.
  22. ^ Staff Writer (April 26, 2009). "Six swine flu cases confirmed in Canada". CTV Media. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
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