Four more local H1N1 deaths
November 05, 2009
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/666952
Four more people with H1N1 influenza have died in Hamilton and Halton, as new data shows the virus is causing unprecedented levels of illness in the area.
Three women, all in their 50s and all with underlying illnesses, died in Hamilton hospitals during the past week.
Another woman in her 70s, who also had a chronic illness, became the first person in Halton Region to die of the flu.
Four people with swine flu had previously died in Hamilton.
Meanwhile, new lab data show flu illness in the area, already double the level of any previous flu season on record, has continued to rise.
The proportion of positive H1N1 tests in the area -- considered a key measure for evaluating flu activity -- rose to 48 per cent last week, up from 38 per cent a week earlier.
In an average flu season, the percentage of positive flu tests reaches 20 to 25 per cent.
"Other health units in the province are seeing a decrease in numbers so it would be surprising if we got much higher than this," said Dr. Chris Mackie, Hamilton's associate medical officer of health. "So we're either at the peak or we're close."
Health Minister Deb Matthews has warned that Ontario will run out of the regular swine flu vaccine by the end of the week -- forcing many immunization clinics to close and preventing priority groups from receiving the flu shot.
While the wait for more vaccine continues, the province will use a small cache of 189,000 doses to backstop public health units.
Yesterday, the federal government said it expects to deliver 1.8 million doses of the swine flu vaccine across the country next week. That includes one million doses of the regular vaccine and 800,000 doses of an adjuvant-free vaccine intended for pregnant women. It is not known how much of that will come to Ontario.
As of yesterday, Halton had 29,000 doses of the H1N1 shot, enough to keep its clinics open to high-priority groups until Saturday.
Hamilton had about 22,000 doses of the vaccine at the beginning of the day yesterday, and expects another shipment of 10,000 doses by the end of the week.
The city likely won't have to shut clinics down, though it will keep them restricted to high-priority groups for a little longer.
"We'd really like to go to the general public as soon as possible and it will just be a matter of when we get the doses to do that," Mackie said.
Both Halton and Hamilton have received shipments of unadjuvanted vaccine for pregnant women.
Hamilton will make its unadjuvanted doses available at its community clinics tomorrow. Women in Halton will get the doses through family doctors, said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health.
The number of H1N1 deaths in Ontario has climbed to 37, including an infant from London, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said yesterday. That's up from 34 on Tuesday.
More people are also coming to the ER with flu-like symptoms.
Halton Region's first H1N1 death should serve as a reminder to older residents to receive their flu shot when it becomes available, Nosal said. Though older people are less likely to become infected with H1N1 than younger age groups, their chances of dying from the virus are higher, he said.
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