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Canwest News Service
The death toll in B.C. from the H1N1 flu continues to mount.
The province's Ministry of Healthy Living announced Tuesday that eight people have died from H1N1 flu since Nov. 24 — double the four deaths announced in the previous week.
The eight new deaths bring the total in B.C. since the disease first showed up in April to 42.
Twenty new deaths related to the current H1N1 flu outbreak were reported by Public Health Agency of Canada Tuesday, bringing the nationwide death toll to 329.
Four of the new deaths in the province were recorded in the Fraser Health region. There were two each in Interior Health and on Vancouver Island.
There were 93 new severe cases of H1N1 reported in the province in the last week, bringing the total of severe cases confirmed by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control since April to 957.
The 93 new severe cases were broken down by region as follows: 45 on Vancouver Island, 21 in Interior Health, 13 in Vancouver Coastal Health, nine in Fraser Health and five in Northern Health.
Since April, the greatest number of severe cases has been recorded in the Fraser Health region with 346, followed by Vancouver Coastal with 243, Interior with 206, Vancouver Island with 119 and Northern Health with 43.
"The majority of lab-confirmed cases in B.C. have been mild or moderate in severity, with the patients either having already recovered or currently recovering," said a B.C. health ministry release.
Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s chief health officer, has warned residents against becoming complacent over swine flu and has "strongly" urged people to get vaccinated.
Kendall has predicted a third wave of flu next spring.
National concern was heightened Tuesday with release of a study noting Canadian airports are serving as "major gateways for infectious diseases."
The report, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, singled out Toronto as the "most vulnerable point of entry in Canada," followed by Vancouver International Airport.
It suggested that more flu screening is required at airports, that thermal sensors be used to detect the body heat of passengers, and that passenger screenings be increased.
aivens@theprovince.com
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“National concern was heightened Tuesday with release of a study noting Canadian airports are serving as “major gateways for infectious diseases.”
Apart from vehicle entry from the US, airports have by far the highest of entry of people into Canuck land… National concern? Heightened? I love this vague fear mongering!
“The report, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, singled out Toronto as the “most vulnerable point of entry in Canada,” followed by Vancouver International Airport.”
Duh! They’re pretty much the main points of entry for all international flights outside of the US! Are you saying we should close down civilization as we know it by stopping all flights?
“It suggested that more flu screening is required at airports, that thermal sensors be used to detect the body heat of passengers, and that passenger screenings be increased.”
Whoever suggested this screening is going to donate all the hardware and medical funding needed to “screen” every passenger arriving in Canada, right? I don’t think so somehow.
I think this news article and all the others of the same ilk are making money on peoples’ fears. Has anyone run a comparison of H1N1 infection to mortality ratios to regular ‘flu in previous years? Probably, but you won’t hear about it because it will only reassure people that as far as statistics show it’s “business as usual”. Oh darn, then reporters couldn’t make money reporting about that awful killer H1N1.
News people please stop sensationalizing the news and I’ll start to listen again.
Oh by the way, there is still a regular crop of ‘flu viruses still making the rounds – but that’s not good news, so you don’t hear about that… Do we run for the hills? Maybe, after I’ve read the paper and finished my coffee; I need a good jog.
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As an addendum for those of you who think I may be being callous and rude, go to this CDC report link on the US site Pubmed.gov. I think it is an important read during this era of health hysteria:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17306052
Please continue discussion on the forum: link