Severe Flu Cases Surge in Manitoba - Aboriginal Community Hit Hard

[Diane Morin]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

H1N1 flu forum announced

By: Bruce Owen
5/06/2009 11:54 AM | Comments: 0


<!--endclickprintexclude-->The Canadian Public Health Association and the Manitoba Public Health Association will hold a public forum on health, fairness and human rights focusing on the H1N1 influenza outbreak, the recession and world-wide health inequalities.


The session will be held June 8 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, Rooms 3 & 4, first floor. It starts at 7 p.m. in conjunction with the CPHA national conference.


It will be moderated by Manitoba?s chief public health officer, Dr. Joel Kettner.


Journalist Andr? Picard will give a short address on how the media, government and public health officials have responded to the three global ?pandemics?.


The program calls for CPHA delegates and the public to discuss the issues with Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald, Manitoba Human Rights Commission executive director Dianna Scarth, Business Council of Manitoba president Jim Carr and former University of Manitoba president Arnold Naimark.


For full conference program go to: http://www.cpha.ca/en/conferences/conf2009.aspx

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/H1N1-flu-forum-announced-47051037.html

[Shiloh]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...swine-flu.html


Winnipeg hotels cautioned against overreacting to flu symptoms
Last Updated: Friday, June 5, 2009 | 2:32 PM CT Comments0Recommend2
CBC News

Manitoba's acting chief public health officer is sending a letter to the province's hotel association, cautioning its members to avoid dealing differently with people exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

The letter is in response to reports that a Winnipeg hotel asked people from St. Theresa Point First Nation to leave the premises on Thursday.

That is the same day that swine flu was confirmed in two residents of the remote Manitoba community.

More than 200 people from the reserve, located about 500 kilometres from Winnipeg, have reported being ill in the past week. The majority of them are being treated in the community, but 21 have been sent to hospitals in Winnipeg.

Of those, two are in critical condition. They are women in their 20s, including one who was pregnant but has since had a miscarriage.

Dr. Elise Weiss said there is no reason for people who might have flu symptoms to be treated any differently.

"It doesn't make a difference in terms of where people eat, live, work or play. The public health precautions are the same everywhere," she said. "So therefore, there should be no reason to make any differences, any different public health recommendations, whether it's for hotels or any other public sites."

Public exposed to illness all the time

The spread of the current strain of H1N1 influenza A virus, which first appeared in Mexico in April, has caused fear, but it is important to remember that people are exposed to all sorts of illnesses in the normal course of the day, Weiss said.

During a normal flu season, between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians ? mostly seniors ? will die from pneumonia related to flu, according to Health Canada. So far, H1N1 has been blamed for three deaths in the country.

Some St. Theresa residents who are in Winnipeg to be with hospitalized family members were told to move out of the St. Regis Hotel on Thursday. Kyle Wyatt, the hotel's general manager, said he was contacted by Health Canada and told to transfer the St. Theresa guests to another facility.

He did not have an exact number of people affected, but did say it was guests from five rooms. Health Canada did not explain to him why the guests had to be moved out.

CBC News has put in an interview request with Health Canada but has not yet had those calls returned.

Hotels association looking for guidance

Jim Baker, head of the Manitoba Hotels Association, said he has been trying to get information from health officials about what to do in such a situation. It's tough for hotel owners to know what to do in a situation where potentially infected guests could be checking in, he said.

"We do know that this is how a flu gets passed," Baker said. "You know, whether it's swine flu or avian flu or whatever, it gets passed by communication. So, you know, what do you do?"

Weiss said her letter would outline how the hotels should handle those matters. She said the situation underscores the reason the province doesn't identify the exact communities where H1N1 cases have been confirmed. Those people can become stigmatized, she said.

"People will assume that there is a risk from a certain community when, really, it is not the case. It's unfortunate, and it shouldn't be that way," she said. "[H1N1] is present at this point in time throughout the province, so it's expected."

Normal precautions should be taken by anyone to stay healthy, she advised.

Health officials have limited the release of details of individual cases to the public in the health region in which the patients live. The cases in St. Theresa Point were revealed by that community's leaders, not the province.

The provincial government is encouraging the public to maintain their immune systems by making healthy food choices, being physically active and getting enough sleep.

Other tips to prevent the spread of any germs include:

* Covering a cough or sneeze, using a tissue or the inside of the elbow.
* Washing hands often with soap and water, especially after a cough or sneeze.
* Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth.

Those with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, aches and fatigue, are most contagious for about one week. During that time, people are encouraged to stay home from school or work and limit contact with others to reduce the chance of spreading the virus.

Anyone seeking advice or care can call Health Links at 204-... or 1-888-3....

[tropical]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...swine-flu.html

Winnipeg hotels cautioned against overreacting to flu symptoms
...
Dr. Elise Weiss said there is no reason for people who might have flu symptoms to be treated any differently.

"It doesn't make a difference in terms of where people eat, live, work or play. The public health precautions are the same everywhere," she said. "So therefore, there should be no reason to make any differences, any different public health recommendations, whether it's for hotels or any other public sites."

Public exposed to illness all the time
...
During a normal flu season, between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians — mostly seniors — will die from pneumonia related to flu, according to Health Canada. So far, H1N1 has been blamed for three deaths in the country.
...

Of course, the public health precautions are the same everywhere -

- they are NON-existant everywhere worldwide, but the particular spoted infected places.

This highlighted "during the normal season ... mostly seniors - will die from pneumonia related to flu" echoing expression, realy iritate.

At least, these poor seasonal flu victims had an little hope by shields seasonal flu vaccines, when now we have no vaccines at all.

I hope that some free range web sites speculations a few years ago about such actual posible unfolding novel flu scenario and its continuation, weren't truthfull.

[Shiloh]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Source: http://www.canada.com/Federal+health...339/story.html

Federal health minister denies Manitoba offered swine flu help.
By Jordana Huber, Canwest News ServiceJune 5, 2009

TORONTO - Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Friday that Manitoba's health minister never offered to help Ottawa with pandemic flu planning on First Nations.

Aglukkaq said she has daily conversations about the swine flu virus with health ministers across the country but that Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald never made any offers or expressed concerns.

``Last week I spoke to her and this was never raised,'' Aglukkaq said. ``She has never made this offer to me or expressed concerns in regards to what's written in the papers today.''

St. Theresa Point, a remote First Nation in northern Manitoba has confirmed two cases of swine flu and 20 residents of the community have been flown to Winnipeg hospital suffering with flu-like symptoms.

Hundreds more have reported symptoms in the community of 3,200.

Oswald said Thursday the Manitoba government had offered Ottawa help with pandemic planning on First Nations 13 times since May 4 but was repeatedly turned down.

Oswald expressed frustration at the federal government's response to the H1N1 flu outbreak when it comes to First Nations such as St. Theresa Point, saying the province had been prevented from doing more because it doesn't have jurisdiction.

Aglukkaq said Friday that Canada's pandemic plan applies everywhere in the country and that she will continue to work with the provinces and territories as it is implemented.

``We're dealing with a virus, H1N1, that does not see culture, that does not see whether you're First Nations, Inuk, a white person and so on."

With files from Winnipeg Free Press

[Diane Morin]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Editorials

<!-- Begin Middle Column --><!--startclickprintinclude-->Asleep at the switches

By: Editorial June 6 top
6/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0


<!--startclickprintexclude-->
<!--endclickprintexclude-->IT is difficult to sort through the divergent stories of provincial and federal officials concerning the public health response to the H1N1 outbreak on Manitoba's First Nations reserves, to piece together the source of the difficulty. It is alarming, however, that Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald asserts her federal counterpart has spurned offers of help, specifically to make available such basic flu-fighting equipment such as masks and anti-viral medication.


It appears that a great deal of talk has gone on among officials, bureaucrats and front-line workers to "prepare" for the deadly pandemic that public health experts have been warning is imminent. The swine flu, so far, has not proven to be virulent and a good thing, too, because the experience at St. Theresa Point, in northern Manitoba, shows that if it were the deadly sort, the virus would have had its way with a relatively small population in a fairly remote place.

There were 21 people from that community in hospital in Winnipeg mid-week, with hundreds more of the 3,000-plus residents registering at the health centre as suffering symptoms of flu. St. Theresa is one of three reserves at Island Lake, not far from Garden Hill and Wasagamack.

Conditions on the reserves are much like those in other Manitoba First Nations -- crowded, substandard housing with substandard sewer and water infrastructure that permits the spread of disease with a rapidity unseen in most urban Canadian centres.

These communities are primed to be hotbeds for pandemic alarm. Logically, they should be at the top of the list for a federal-provincial outbreak response. But fully two months after this country was alerted to H1N1, ministers are giving contradictory accounts about the fine details that people will depend upon with their lives. Friday, federal Health Minister Leona Agluggaq insisted there was no hint of any problem in her recent conversation with Ms. Oswald.

Ms. Oswald's most disconcerting assertion was that this province offered repeatedly to make anti-viral medications available to the reserves, but was turned down.

Canadians expect the hundreds of switches in both jurisdictions to flip instantly when emergency hits. The first news of an outbreak at St. Theresa came from doctors there concerned that the public was unaware of a brewing emergency, with official notice following days later.
The exchange between Ms. Oswald and Ms. Agluggaq does not inspire confidence. The first task is to ensure Island Lake residents get necessary care. A clear account of the dispute should be made public when the emergency has passed and a review has been conducted.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/asleep-at-the-switches-47117377.html

<!--endclickprintinclude-->

[Diane Morin]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Feds vow to start talking

Officials will be available to publicly discuss flu pandemic

By: Mia Rabson
6/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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OTTAWA -- Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald said Friday she has received assurances that federal officials will become more available to communicate with Manitobans about pandemic flu issues.Oswald spoke with Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq by phone Friday -- a day after Oswald criticized the federal government for poor communication and for refusing help from Manitoba in addressing the H1N1 flu outbreak.

Oswald said Thursday the province had offered 13 times to help the federal government since May 4 and was consistently told it wasn't needed until Wednesday, when the outbreak of the illness among St. Theresa Point residents became apparent.

More than 20 people from the remote community, 470 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, have been hospitalized in Winnipeg with influenza. Three have been confirmed as having H1N1 influenza. Several hundred more in the community who are showing respiratory symptoms have registered with the nursing station.

Oswald said one of her biggest frustrations was Ottawa's refusal to let local federal health officials participate in news conferences to give information about what was happening.

Manitoba officials do not feel comfortable providing information specific to reserves, said Oswald, but requests to have the federal officials on the ground attend provincial news conferences were consistently denied, she said.

Aglukkaq told Oswald Friday that would no longer happen.
"She agreed we have to do more joint communications," Oswald said. "I am happy with that."

Oswald said she didn't mean to start a "fist fight" with Aglukkaq and said her comments Thursday were not meant to imply the federal health officials in Manitoba were doing a poor job.

"The team on the ground is doing a good job," she said.

On Friday morning, Aglukkaq said she had spoken to Oswald several times since H1N1 arose in late April and that Oswald had never offered any help.
The province quickly countered, saying it wasn't help offered on the ministerial level but by officials on the ground, as established crisis-response procedures dictate.

Aglukkaq's spokeswoman confirmed Friday afternoon the two ministers spoke by phone.

"They are working towards the same goal," she said.

"Our minister is in weekly touch with all of her provincial and territorial counterparts. Departmental officials are in daily touch with the provinces."
Manitoba has jurisdiction for public health for everyone except those living on First Nations communities, which fall under Ottawa's purview.

There are well-established pandemic plans for provinces but extending those plans to First Nations appears to be lagging behind.

In 2005, the Public Health Agency of Canada identified as a problem the lack of agreements between Health Canada and the provinces about who will do what on reserves during a public health crisis.

Four years later those agreements are still being worked on, and while all First Nations are meant to have their own pandemic flu plans, not all of them do.

The Island Lake Tribal Council, of which St. Theresa Point is a member, was in the midst of retooling its plan when this outbreak hit.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/feds-vow-to-start-talking-47117357.html

[blacknail]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

I remember reading somewhere that the 1918 Pandemic almost wiped out some first nations communities in Northern Canada. It wasn't known whether it was underlying medical conditions or genetic predisposition that caused it. That being said, there is far more TB and other health problems including chronic substance abuse on Canada's Indian Reserves. Anyone from Western Canada will tell you that you avoid driving on reservations if at all possible. A friend of mine struck and killed a toddler who was wandering alone in the middle of a highway at 2 AM. There was recently a case in Saskatchewan of two toddlers freezing to death because their father was drunk and left them outside, for which the band gave him a slap on the wrist. Dogs run wild and maul children, etc. It is not surprising that any flu outbreak would be more severe in this population and doctors are leaving these communities in droves because they fear for their lives (imagine carrying medications that many in the community would do anything to have). The fact that so many have been taken out of the community for treatment is completely routine and there is nothing that would make me think that this is a novel virus.

[sharon sanders]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Wow. That is extremely biased.

This is the kind of attitude that prevents progress. It is backward and uneducated.


I do not think I have read something so ignorant in a long time.

[K. Taylor]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

"is a wake-up call for governments to address poor living conditions and improve health care for aboriginals."

They need more than a wake up call. Health officials in Canada need a kick in the head. They took a month to test for H1N1 despite the fat that 1/3 of the community was ill with the disease, and refused 13 times to allow anti-virals in? There is a really good post: "if this isn't sytematic racism, what is it?" that nails this issue. http://crazybitchesrus.blogspot.com/...f-is-isnt.html

[K. Taylor]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

There is a really good post: "if this isn't sytematic racism, what is it?" that nails the issue of racism in the health care sytem. http://crazybitchesrus.blogspot.com/...f-is-isnt.html
also check out http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Heal...anitobaHealth/
that speaks to the chiefs frustrations

[sharon sanders]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

They need more than a wake up call. Health officials in Canada need a kick in the head. They took a month to test for H1N1 despite the fat that 1/3 of the community was ill with the disease, and refused 13 times to allow anti-virals in? There is a really good post: "if this isn't sytematic racism, what is it?" that nails this issue. http://crazybitchesrus.blogspot.com/...f-is-isnt.html

The post from the above link:



Saturday, June 6, 2009

St. Theresa First Nation -If is isn't systematic racism, what is it?


The state of health conditions on reserves should have identified First Nations as high-risk for pandemic alarm and put these communities at the top of the list for pandemic planning. Clearly this did not happened. Why? If is isn't systematic racism, what is it? This issue is larger than the current H1N1 virus, which is fortunately mild. We've learned that a future, more virulent pandemic will devastate First Nations communities if the system does not improve. The H1N1 also shows why disease and viral infections cause needless deaths in First Nation communities every year.

So let's consider what we already know about the epidemiology of H1N1 at St. Theresa's.

2005-Canada's Public Health Agency warned that First Nations would be at risk in event of a pandemic unless inter-jurisdictional protocols were developed along with plans for delivering antivirals.
-2009, May 01-31-1356 people st the St. Theresa First Nation(total pop 3,200) visit the nursing station. That's more than 1/3 of the community. 567 of these reported respiratory illness. The nursing station reported the spike to Health Canada and provincial/regional health authorities.

May 4-Provincial health officials offer to provide anti-viral medication to St. Theresa's. Federal health officials, who have jurisdiction over the reserve, refuse (story)

May 4-30-The province repeats it's offer to bring anti-virals to St. Theresa 13 times. Each time Health Canada refuses.

-mid-May St. Theresa's school is closed to control the spread of the virus. Federal provincial health authorities are notified as well as the federal department of Indian Affairs. While this should have been a red flag, there has still been no testing for H1N1 at this point and federal officials continue to refuse offers of help from the province.

May 26-27 Because there has been no testing for H1N1, no warning is issued to avoid large gatherings. A Manitoba General Chief's Assembly is held at St. Theresa Point.

May 26-June 1- Health officials fly two additional nurses and two doctors to St. Theresa Point

May 26-June 1 - 7 people including 2 pregnant women are medivaced to Winnipeg with suspected H1N1

May 29-June 6 -Testing for H1N1 begins
June 1-5-The spike in continues, 96 cases of respiratory illness are reported to the nursing station in 5 days.

June 2- Media first picks up the story that 7 people including 2 pregnant women have been medivaced to Winnipeg from St. Theresa

June 3 - The federal government finally accepts the province's offer to help, anti-virals and masks are sent to the community.

June 3 - One of the pregnant women miscarries, the other delivers by emergency C-setcion. The two women and infant are in critical condition.

June 3 - Two cases of H1N1 are confirmed at St. Theresa Point First Nation, a third case is confirmed at nearby South Indian Lake.

June 3- The total number of hospitalized patients from St.Theresa's doubles to 20, hundreds more in the community complain of respiratory illness

June 4- St. Theresa Chief David McDougall holds a press conference with two other chiefs from a neighbouring reserve. He complains of the initial slow action, poor communications and the government's refusal to build a hospital to serve remote First Nations communities. They also state that a lack of running water in some communities and over-crowded housing (12 persons per home) make it difficult to comply to health and safety recommendations such as avoiding gatherings and hand washing.

June 5 - Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald goes public with allegations that federal officials originally refused help from he province. She adds that federal officials have refused to participate on press conference to share information with the public.

June 5th - Federal officials agree to participate in future press conferences. They send an epidemiologist to the community to investigate how the virus spread.

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Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Florida1 - I used to live in another part of the World and would have agreed with you. Now that I drive on Indian Reserves in Western Canada weekly, I can tell you that the conditions on the reserves are terrible. I am not stating who is to blame for the situation. I am simply reassuring anyone who does not understand the conditions on Western Canadian Indian Reserves that an outbreak of any illness will appear to be more severe because of the poor health of this population.

In a lot of reserves, the chief makes conditions as bad as possible to get the maximum government funding. I have seen countless examples of this. It does not surprise me that there are people playing the race card to place the blame on the Canadian government. Our government will eventually issue an apology and a cheque and no one will be any further ahead. To me the whole situation is sad and I think if more Canadians paid attention to the plight of our reserves they would be as disgusted as I am and demand a better solution from both sides.

[tropical]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

seems that history fields events never ends; once nailed, nailed forever ...

the "western"'s movies continuation,

or there are some more laws to set up there

[sharon sanders]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

Florida1 - I used to live in another part of the World and would have agreed with you. Now that I drive on Indian Reserves in Western Canada weekly, I can tell you that the conditions on the reserves are terrible. I am not stating who is to blame for the situation. I am simply reassuring anyone who does not understand the conditions on Western Canadian Indian Reserves that an outbreak of any illness will appear to be more severe because of the poor health of this population.

In a lot of reserves, the chief makes conditions as bad as possible to get the maximum government funding. I have seen countless examples of this. It does not surprise me that the chief in this case is playing the race card to place the blame on the Canadian government. Our government will eventually issue an apology and a cheque and no one will be any further ahead. To me the whole situation is sad and I think if more Canadians paid attention to the plight of our reserves they would be as disgusted as I am and demand a better solution from both sides.

I think you do not see how these statement appear. They appear ignorant and racist.

1) I would like to see some proof that "a lot" of First Nations Chiefs make conditions "as bad as possible" on the reserves to obtain maximum government funding.

2) I would like to see some evidence that the chief in this case is playing the race card in order to blame the Canadian government with the aim of obtaining a check.


It appears that the Manitoba provincial health officials agree with the First Nations in this case:

"...Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald said Friday she has received assurances that federal officials will become more available to communicate with Manitobans about pandemic flu issues.Oswald spoke with Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq by phone Friday -- a day after Oswald criticized the federal government for poor communication and for refusing help from Manitoba in addressing the H1N1 flu outbreak..."

[cartski]

Re: Novel H1N1 flu outbreak hits isolated First Nations reserve

I think you do not see how these statement appear. They appear ignorant and racist.

Agreed. Bravo for moderating these posts F1. Horrible things happen in all parts of the world, in all levels of socio-economic status. But hope for a better life binds us all together.

I'm not sure that delving into the politics of this situation is worthwhile. Chasing down the evidence to prove or disprove allegations of fraud or racism may be better addressed in another forum. Indeed, the meeting tonight runs a great risk of becoming a free-or-all about the divisiveness in Government - Aboriginal affairs, and FT runs this same risk. Yes, these are important issues as they are in all states that have a disadvantaged minority; however, disease outbreak are the primary concerns of this forum.

J.