Thu Apr. 30 2009 7:22:11 PM
H1N1 flu total climbs to 34 in Canada, including first case in Quebec
The Canadian Press
Pam Christopherson, a nurse at the Hants Community Hospital in Windsor, N.S., demonstrates some of the protective equipment used at the influenza assessment clinic at the facility, on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
Canadian officials announced a torrent of new confirmed swine flu cases Thursday but maintained the symptoms are mild and the new numbers were anticipated.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper assured the public that governments around the world are working together on the issue, even as Canada's caseload almost doubled to 34 with 15 new confirmations, including the first in Quebec.
"Thankfully, all cases in Canada continue to be mild," Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq told a news conference in Ottawa.
"I repeat again these new cases were anticipated and do not affect our approach."
One notable change in approach, however, was announced Thursday.
Harper presaged the move when he alluded to the outbreak as the "Mexican flu" during a news conference in Toronto Thursday.
Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, later told reporters in the capital that the virus will no longer be referred to as swine flu, but instead will be called the H1N1 flu virus.
Butler-Jones said the change is being made "to make it very clear that this disease is not spread from pigs or from either pork or pork products."
Harper plans to visit a Saskatchewan farm on Friday, where that point will likely be driven home.
Pork producers have taken a beating as consumers -- and some foreign governments -- have reacted irrationally to the spreading swine flu.
So far, officials are tracing most cases of the virus to travellers to Mexico, although eight Canadian cases in all were not recent travellers to the country. Health officials are keeping a keen watch for what may be secondary infections as a signal to whether the virus is becoming established in the human population.
"In Canada now, within the school setting, possibly we're at sort of third generation or so -- that is a person infecting another infecting another," Butler-Jones said.
Quebec health officials said Thursday the province's first confirmed case is a person from the Montreal area who was in Mexico recently and is now at home with a mild case of the flu.
Of the 15 new cases reported Thursday, five were in B.C., four in Alberta, four in Nova Scotia, one in Ontario and one in Quebec.
They are all considered mild.
But wary health officials in B.C. closed an elementary school in the Okanagan after a student was diagnosed with a mild case of the swine flu. Officials said it was a precaution to keep the virus from spreading to the other 500 students at the French immersion school.
With the threat level of a global flu pandemic raised to five on a scale of six Wednesday, one step short of a full pandemic, the prime minister attempted to calm public fears during his appearance in Toronto.
"People should rest assured that governments around the world are responding to this in an appropriate and co-ordinated way," said Harper.
"And I speak not just of the federal government and its provincial counterparts, but governments across the world are co-ordinating their actions and co-ordinating them with international health authorities, and I believe we are doing what is necessary at the moment."
Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert also sought to calm the furor over the H1N1 virus Thursday when asked if the province has any plans other than daily briefings to keep the public from overreacting.
"Other than trying to communicate to folks like you (the media) that 'Live life normally,"' Liepert said.
"There are no other plans. We have got a plan in place. We have got our officials working. Things are under control. So anything that goes beyond that is basically hype and rumour."
Liepert said Alberta has no plans yet to stop crowds from gathering at sporting events, festivals and the upcoming tourism season.
"It is different than Mexico City where they have decided where they won't have fans at soccer games," he said.
"But Mexico City is in the heart of where this influenza has developed. We are in a very different situation than that."
Liepert said people should not overreact to the few cases in Alberta: "Live your life normal . . . we are talking about six Albertans out of 3.5 million Albertans."
Alberta's four new cases involve young adults from Calgary who recently returned from a trip to Mexico, said Dr. Andre Corriveau, the province's medical health officer.
"They came back and had a mild course of illness and were managed at home and are all recovering," Corriveau said Thursday in Edmonton.
The four have been advised to stay home for a week -- the period when people are infectious, Corriveau said.
Meanwhile, the new cases in Nova Scotia are related to an original cluster of four cases among students at a private boarding school in Windsor.
"We do expect to continue to see new cases," said Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health.
Strang said only one of the students who has contracted a confirmed case of the virus has been to Mexico.
"It has then spread through the larger population of the school," he said.
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Comments are now closed for this story
April 30, 2009 at 4:16:41 PM
Lemmywinks, Toronto
Before everyone starts whining and complaining that this is nothing, that the media is overhyping the whole swine flu thing, and that X thousand people die from the regular flu every year, lets get a few things straight.
Sure, more people die in an average year from the regular flu than have died from the "swine" flu so far in under a month. However the death rate from the standard flu is somewhere around half a parcent of those infected (at most) and those that die are the enfeebled patients with comorbidities or compromised immune systems. So far, In Mexico, about 6% of those infected have died. Furthermore, many of those that have died have been people in their 20s and 30s and otherwise healthy. Is that not cause for alarm? Do you think the WHO would raise the pandemic level to 5 for no good reason, just to cause mass hysteria?? Seriously?? Would you rather have everyone sit around and do nothing? The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic led to 20-100 million deaths; I think a little (or a lot of) precaution is warranted, even if it turns out not to have been completely necessary. Some (see: many) of the people that post on these news sites really need to think about things for a minute before forming opinions.
So far I think the authorities and the media have done a good job of informing the public.
April 30, 2009 at 4:18:51 PM
David E. Cloutier
Where in Toronto Canada can we buy these "fit seal N95 adhesive protection face mask?
April 30, 2009 at 4:19:41 PM
Richard
It's like Sars all over again. Toronto weathered it then and we will weather it this time. No need for panic - just use common sense in public places.
April 30, 2009 at 4:32:11 PM
AA
I think people have seriously lost perspective on the situation, and is borderline on hysteria. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this just another strain of the influenza (maybe not a typical one, but simply another strain). The CDC sources state that every year 36,000 people die from the flu, and yet we have no up to the minute update on any of those people. Do you keep your children from going to school when little Jane gets the flu? I am very disappointed in the reactions of what I thought to be intelligent Canadians (and especially the Media for blowing this situation out of proportion).
April 30, 2009 at 5:35:03 PM
Frankie Page
Have any of you considered that maybe the Government and Media are down-playing the situation to prevent a mass panic. I find it a bit odd that this is happening now with the condition of economy.
April 30, 2009 at 5:35:37 PM
AA
This is a response to "Lemmywinks" posting: You stated that "So far, In Mexico, about 6% of those infected have died."
Well, did you check how many Mexicans have died from the common flu? Chances are the numbers are the same... It all depends on the living conditions and age groups that happened to get the flu in the first place.
You also stated "Furthermore, many of those that have died have been people in their 20s and 30s and otherwise healthy."
Many age groups have been affected, but as far as mainly people in their 20s and 30s dying, I am not sure where you're getting your sources on that one. But I can address the issue of why younger people are more susceptible. Read the article in Scientific American, and it will tell you about the previous "Swine Flu" scare (yes, this is not the first time), and how the older people from the previous incident have developed immunity.
You would think that the fact that we already had a false alarm in the past would be a good indicator of not starting a panic yet again.
I agree that this virus is not necessarily acting like a common flu virus (it seems to spread much faster). But the worst case scenario, with the exception of everyone dying of course, is that the majority of the population gets the "flu"... BIG DEAL!!!
And please don't whine about the children again...
April 30, 2009 at 5:47:49 PM
sibni
My question is if this is as serious as the WHO is claiming then why wouldn't they require mandatory quarantine for anyone returning from Mexico?
The H1N1 flu has an incubation period of 7 days so I fell as though anyone returning from Mexico should be quarantined for 7 days in order to ensure they have not been infected and therefore cannot pass it on.
April 30, 2009 at 6:22:29 PM
Lemmywinks
Response to AA. I'm saying that there is no panic in Canada yet and there shouldn't be, but why not take some of the recommended precautions?
The media has been reporting on this rather regularly, but it has been, for the most aprt, straight information and I haven't seen "mass hysteria" yet. Notice how I didn't say, "it's about time we crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside," or something to that effect.
Also, if you read up on the Spanish flu, you will find out that older people were also immune to it to a large extent because of an earlier, less deadly outbreak 30 years earlier.
I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "please don't whine about the children again".
April 30, 2009 at 7:09:46 PM
Troopa Supa
This is pathetic! The media spends 20 minutes out of 30 minutes focusing on this FLU, while there are serious crisis to report such as, the recession, missing people, War in Iraq and yet, the media is only interested in making people scared so they can make their profits by selling fear.
April 30, 2009 at 8:03:37 PM
Alicia
I think that people in places surrounding areas that have found cases of the N1H1 flu should buy masks and other protective health supplies and be prepared for whatever might come their way. Although I am not afraid of this influenza, I'm taking it seriously and everyone else should to. Whether you believe it's as dangerous as they say or not, it's better safe than sorry.
April 30, 2009 at 8:44:08 PM
Give it up
Thank you Troopa Supa. You nailed it. This is stupid. They did it in 1975 and they're doing it again. Turn off the news, and go outside and enjoy your life.
April 30, 2009 at 10:05:05 PM
tina
Causing fear among the public is not the best way to go, however some precaution is definitely necessary. There is a small chance, but some strains of the flu or any other virus can mutate into something more contractible. The best thing to do is to see a doctor if you have any of the flu signs and take extra precautions such as washing your hands often, teachers or cleaning staff disinfecting desks, toys etc
May 01, 2009 at 10:50:52 PM
Emilie
It the government did not want the disease to spread they would have stop everyone on a flight or ship from Mexico from comin in, or they would have guarantine the people. It is very obvious that they are not too concern about it since not enough people had died yet.
So the best thing you could do is stay away from Mexico or anyone that have gone to Mexico, wash your hands and sneeze in your sleeve.
May 01, 2009 at 12:44:13 AM
Concerned
Causing fear is not the incorrect way of going around this. Informing us on precautions is the best thing and ovioulsy how it has originated. But, geesh- think of all the people who don't listen, read or what the news and carry on to stores, schools etc and will infect others instead of being home getting better. There's too many people that are purely disgusting with sneezing and coughing all over the place. I am happy to hear the "over reaction". A child at my childs school came back from Mexico, family doesn't speak english and they let the child go to school. My child is out of school til this peer gets tested. To heck with getting sick out of stupidity and ignorance of others. Flu's are common, people need to be educated in general.
May 01, 2009 at 8:41:02 AM
EYES WIDE OPEN
To change the name of this fast spreading disease from swine flu to N1H1 is obsurd. This outbreak was due to respiratory illness FOUND IN SWINE..transmitted into a highly contagious disease when contracted by humans, yet they want to say that this disease is not spread from pigs. Sorry dont trust you! I disagree with Lemmywinks comment. The WHO is doing a terrible job keeping us informed, instead they are doing a good job of instilling fear into people. Have they told you the ones contracting this deadly disease are between the ages of infants to people in their twenties?? And that its mostly YOUNG MALES who are dying from this disease? Didnt think so. They tell you only what they want to tell you. Prime "sinister" Harper said it himself, he "assured" us governments around the world are working together on this issue...hmmmm??...yep, to ensure this disease IS spreading. Then in Mexico they are giving out masks to the public which the WHO says doesnt even work....hmmm???... giving a false sense of security. how sinister...