Pre-teen girl dies of flu in Ottawa Hospital

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/...542/story.html

Pre-teen girl dies of flu in Ottawa Hospital
By David Gy, Ottawa Citizen October, 25, 2009

OTTAWA ? A pre-teen girl from Eastern Ontario has died this weekend in an Ottawa hospital of a suspected case of the H1N1 flu virus.

The girl, whose name and hometown were not released, was ?slightly less than 11 or 12 years old,? Paul Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, told reporters Sunday morning.

She is the first child and second person believed to have died from the virus in the area covered by the unit ? the city of Cornwall, and the counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, and Prescott-Russell.

The girl was admitted to hospital Friday, Roumeliotis said. He confirmed she died of a Type A influenza virus, and expected to have confirmation Sunday that H1N1 was the cause of death. He did not know if she had any pre-existing medical conditions.

The girl did not attend one of 25 schools in the five-county area on the health unit?s outbreak list ? those with at least 10 per cent of students absent due to illness.

Roumeliotis said ?we know it?s in all our counties ? we are a hot spot.?

Reflecting on poll results published Saturday showing that virtually half of Canadians do not intend to be vaccinated, Roumeliotis urged residents to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

?I would presume any tragic situation like this ? will help people think twice about refusing the vaccination,? he said.

?People will now understand ? and not call it a hoax or an exaggeration.?

Immunization clinics in the five-county area are to begin Oct. 30. In Ottawa and Gatineau, clinics begin Monday, but during the first one to two weeks, only high-risk people are encouraged to get flu shots. They are:

- Those between six months and 65 years of age with chronic medical conditions;

- Healthy children between six months and five years of age

- Front-line health care workers

- Household contacts and care providers of infants under six months and people with compromised immune systems, and;

- Pregnant women.

[Shiloh]

Re: Pre-teen girl dies of flu in Ottawa Hospital

Source: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/A...aspx?e=2147661

H1N1 victim was an athlete and active member of the community
Parent wants information from school board
Posted By DAVID NESSETH


CORNWALL ? As St. Anne?s Catholic School let out Monday, one student hopped into mom?s minivan with a tiny bottle of red hand sanitizer clutched tight against her palm.

Sitting in class earlier that day, she had learned about the H1N1 death of schoolmate Vanetia Warner from her teacher.

?(Vanetia) always had a big smile on her face,? said Alyssa Anderson, a grade four student at St. Anne?s. ?If someone was skipping on their own, she would ask if they want to play with her.?

Vanetia, 10, had been featured in the Standard-Freeholder several times for her achievements. She was an athlete and an active member of the community.

Vanetia?s family has asked for privacy while they cope with their daughter?s death.

A public Facebook group called ?In Memory of Vanetia Warner? was on track Monday to reach 1,000 members. Many members of the Cornwall community have posted warm words for Vanetia?s parents.

Alyssa?s mom, Tawnia Hemond, said her ?heart stopped? when she learned about which school Vanetia attended. She got the information from people talking at her job Monday afternoon.

Hemond would likely have kept her daughter home from school Monday, she said, if she?d known about the H1N1 death earlier.

?We want to know they?re keeping on top of it, that precautions are being taken,? Hemond said. ?We?re a small city and this is scary. It?s such a close school.?

During a news conference Monday at the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario office in Kemptville, Director of Education William Gartland said the school has undergone a cleaning, with particular attention paid to ?high touch areas.?

Gartland also indicated that grief counselling would be available.

[Pathfinder]

Re: Pre-teen girl dies of flu in Ottawa Hospital

Girl's death from H1N1 worries Cornwall parents

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

CBC News


Some parents in the Cornwall, Ont., area are worried about their children's health after a young girl died of swine flu.

A photo of 10-year-old Vanetia Warner taken from a Facebook tribute group. Warner died of H1N1 on Sunday. (Facebook)

10-year-old Vanetia Warner passed away on the weekend at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario after being diagnosed with H1N1 influenza.

She attended St. Anne's Catholic School in Cornwall and was in good health before contracting swine flu.

Bill Vida, who has three children who attend St. Anne's school, said he is keeping his kids at home for now.

"We just don?t feel comfortable sending the children to school until they've had their shot," Vida said.

"The girl was perfectly healthy, and she succumbed to the swine flu," Vida said. "We're just scared parents right now."

William Gartland, the director of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, said absenteeism at the school has gone up, but he said he doesn't know whether it's on account of illness or parents keeping children home.

"We are working closely with parents to provide the latest information so there won't be panic," Gartland said.

School-age children a vaccine priority

The Eastern Ontario Board of Health said it is putting school-age children on its priority list for the H1N1 vaccine. As of Friday, children living in eastern Ontario will be able to get the vaccine.

Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, said the expansion of the priority list was motivated by the girl?s death and the high rate of absenteeism in schools.

The death is the second one ? and the first death of a child ? linked to H1N1 in the area served by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, which includes the counties of Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell and the city of Cornwall.

A 52-year-old eastern Ontario woman died in June after testing positive for H1N1.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/10/27/ott-flu-cornwall.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: Pre-teen girl dies of flu in Ottawa Hospital

Discovering the short life of Vanetia Warner


Kelly Egan, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Friday, October 30, 2009

First times, we remember -- especially when they marry innocence and death.

Bunny Warner, 67, strides across the crimson carpet in the faux-painted funeral home and extends his hand, poking out from the arm of a black wool jacket. "Take as much time as you need."

Today, he buries his grand-daughter, Vanetia, only 10, the area's first young victim from this latest wave of the H1N1 strain of influenza.
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Yet, in this sombre moment, does he find grace. "She was a loving, wonderful girl."

Together with the death of a healthy Toronto teen, these two fatalities stabbed fear in the hearts of many parents.

Why? Because -- as caregivers, as protectors -- they seemed to do everything right, yet watched their children die.

"I think if there's one thing the family would tell other parents, it's, 'Make sure your kids get the (vaccine) shot,'" he said.

Vanetia never had the chance.

A retired school board superintendent, Warner took a moment to describe his granddaughter, one of three children born to Cory Warner and his wife, Angela Lazzari.

She was a Grade 5 student at St. Anne Catholic School, which sits in the middle-class Riverdale neighbourhood, just upstream from the old Domtar paper plant, now a pile of rubble.

Inside the lobby of the school, you will find a table which holds a small memorial. There is large photo of Vanetia in pink earrings and you can see the look of the little girl giving way to the assurance of the young woman.

A Bible is open, at the Book of Psalms.

Vanetia was a figure skater. She liked Miley Cyrus and her alter-ego, Hannah Montana, the Mozart of the pre-teen world. A continuous loop of Cyrus music played during Thursday's wake, at Lahaie & Sullivan Funeral Home. The room was packed, surely a testament to the family's standing in the community.

In as much as photos tell a story, here is what we see: a flair for the theatrical. Vanetia peeling apples while wearing a tiara.

A chickadee resting on a pale blue toque she is wearing on a clear winter day. Dressed up and walking like an ancient Egyptian. Bug-eyed sunglasses and a long set of Mardi Gras beads.

On a yellow slide in a bathing suit. On a dock. Wearing a baseball uniform, with a medal around her neck.

Glammed up with red lipstick and eye shadow, about to perform at a fair, public singing being one her favourite pursuits. Smiling with her kitten.

"She won awards at school and it was always for helping other kids," said Warner.

"One of her favourite sayings was: 'If you've got a problem, build a bridge and get over it."

The grandfather briefly described the fear-inducing speed at which the illness progressed last week.

He said Vanetia was suffering from flu-like symptoms and nausea early in the week and stayed home from school. Later in the week, she seem to rally.

"She was teaching us how to dance to this type of music," he said, pointing to the speaker, "on Thursday night."

Later Friday, she took a turn for the worse and Warner said his son took her to the local hospital. She was soon transferred to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

Not knowing how ill the child really was, Warner and his wife, Nancy, took an overnight trip Friday, returning home Saturday afternoon to a startling phone call. They rushed to CHEO where Vanetia was now on life support.

She died that day.

"Her body just shut down."

It is shockingly reminiscent of the Toronto 13-year-old who died Monday, after playing in a hockey tournament on the preceding weekend.

Vanetia's death has clearly spooked Cornwall, the town of 47,000 about 100 kilometres east of Ottawa.

"You think of the family," said C?cile Sauv?, 70, having a coffee with friends at a downtown mall. "You don't ever think you're going to bury a child."

She and her friend Mary Ashurst, 68, both suffer from respiratory disease and say they will likely get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. "I think people are scared. It can happen so fast," said Ashurst.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit, which covers Cornwall, reports it is receiving hundreds of calls about access to the vaccine.

It is now ramping up its distribution, adding clinics, including an extra one on Sunday. Details are on the unit's website.

It also announced Thursday it will begin immunizing all children 18 and under, a group not targeted in the first priority wave.

Vanetia's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. today.

http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/columnists/story.html?id=848bbbac-51fe-4fcc-87df-0b60d16b1245