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H1N1 flu hits Vernon cadet camp
Army training continues for now for 800 recruits on site
By John Bermingham, The ProvinceJuly 16, 2009 8:49 AM
An H1N1 flu outbreak was confirmed yesterday at a Vernon army cadet-training centre, where close to 30 have fallen ill with respiratory symptoms.
A female cadet fell ill last week and was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for assessment.
She returned to the camp and was isolated, but then up to 27 other cadets fell ill, said Gerry Pash of Pacific Region Cadets in Victoria.
"All the cadets are doing well. All the parents have been notified," he said.
The centre decided not to bring in a group of 250 cadets to replace an outgoing group of 250.
There are currently 800 cadets in the camp, where training continued yesterday, but that number could be reduced to fewer than 600 by the weekend, Pash said.
"If things are stabilized and we don't get any more cases, we'll carry on," he said. "There's no suggestion of closing the camp at this time."
Meanwhile, B.C.'s first swine-flu deaths won't be the last, say public-health officials after two Lower Mainland deaths linked to the H1N1 virus.
A seven-year-old Lower Mainland boy is confirmed as B.C.'s first case, and a young woman who lived with someone who had the virus has also died. Her death has not yet been officially linked to H1N1.
Dr. Helena Swinkels, medical health officer for the Fraser region, said one other person who came into contact with the woman has also contracted H1N1.
Swinkels said officials are following up with the seven-year-old boy's family, and the group home where the woman became ill.
"We are ensuring that the people who are in these homes, that we work with them to ensure that the vulnerable people are protected as much as possible," she said yesterday. That may involve taking anti-viral drugs, she said, as well as regular hand-washing.
"We are very strongly monitoring the situation, and [making sure] other people are protected as much as possible," said Swinkels.
"These deaths were not unexpected," she added. "We would expect more deaths as time goes on."
Earlier this month, Fraser Health ramped up influenza testing at region hospitals, and is providing rapid anti-viral drugs if a patient is diagnosed with H1N1.
Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said he's monitoring the current flu season in Australia as a predictor of whether B.C. is hit by a flu pandemic.
"It's not out of the question, but I think it's unlikely," he said. "We think we'll see a resurgence when children go back into schools [in September]."
Kendall said the new H1N1 flu vaccine, which is being produced for the fall, could be given to 1.25 million health workers and people with underlying health conditions over a period of two to three weeks.
Canadian health authorities said this week that not everyone will be able to receive the vaccine at the start of flu season, because of production problems.
Kendall said officials are also planning how to get anti-viral drugs to sick people, and developing contingency plans for hospitals.
"We can anticipate an increased burden of people seeking care," he said.
"We anticipated that we would see deaths," he said.
Kendall is not recommending that B.C. summer camps close, but said sick kids should not be sent to camp.
The H1N1 flu has hit three Ontario summer camps, and dozens of kids have been sent home.
Pregnant women, Kendall said, should avoid contact with people who are ill.
B.C. has seen 382 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu. Fourteen resulted in hospital admissions, five of which were moved into intensive care.
Canada has recorded 43 deaths linked to the flu out of almost 10,000 confirmed cases.
H1N1 flu hits Vernon cadet camp
Army training continues for now for 800 recruits on site
By John Bermingham, The ProvinceJuly 16, 2009 8:49 AM
An H1N1 flu outbreak was confirmed yesterday at a Vernon army cadet-training centre, where close to 30 have fallen ill with respiratory symptoms.
A female cadet fell ill last week and was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for assessment.
She returned to the camp and was isolated, but then up to 27 other cadets fell ill, said Gerry Pash of Pacific Region Cadets in Victoria.
"All the cadets are doing well. All the parents have been notified," he said.
The centre decided not to bring in a group of 250 cadets to replace an outgoing group of 250.
There are currently 800 cadets in the camp, where training continued yesterday, but that number could be reduced to fewer than 600 by the weekend, Pash said.
"If things are stabilized and we don't get any more cases, we'll carry on," he said. "There's no suggestion of closing the camp at this time."
Meanwhile, B.C.'s first swine-flu deaths won't be the last, say public-health officials after two Lower Mainland deaths linked to the H1N1 virus.
A seven-year-old Lower Mainland boy is confirmed as B.C.'s first case, and a young woman who lived with someone who had the virus has also died. Her death has not yet been officially linked to H1N1.
Dr. Helena Swinkels, medical health officer for the Fraser region, said one other person who came into contact with the woman has also contracted H1N1.
Swinkels said officials are following up with the seven-year-old boy's family, and the group home where the woman became ill.
"We are ensuring that the people who are in these homes, that we work with them to ensure that the vulnerable people are protected as much as possible," she said yesterday. That may involve taking anti-viral drugs, she said, as well as regular hand-washing.
"We are very strongly monitoring the situation, and [making sure] other people are protected as much as possible," said Swinkels.
"These deaths were not unexpected," she added. "We would expect more deaths as time goes on."
Earlier this month, Fraser Health ramped up influenza testing at region hospitals, and is providing rapid anti-viral drugs if a patient is diagnosed with H1N1.
Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said he's monitoring the current flu season in Australia as a predictor of whether B.C. is hit by a flu pandemic.
"It's not out of the question, but I think it's unlikely," he said. "We think we'll see a resurgence when children go back into schools [in September]."
Kendall said the new H1N1 flu vaccine, which is being produced for the fall, could be given to 1.25 million health workers and people with underlying health conditions over a period of two to three weeks.
Canadian health authorities said this week that not everyone will be able to receive the vaccine at the start of flu season, because of production problems.
Kendall said officials are also planning how to get anti-viral drugs to sick people, and developing contingency plans for hospitals.
"We can anticipate an increased burden of people seeking care," he said.
"We anticipated that we would see deaths," he said.
Kendall is not recommending that B.C. summer camps close, but said sick kids should not be sent to camp.
The H1N1 flu has hit three Ontario summer camps, and dozens of kids have been sent home.
Pregnant women, Kendall said, should avoid contact with people who are ill.
B.C. has seen 382 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu. Fourteen resulted in hospital admissions, five of which were moved into intensive care.
Canada has recorded 43 deaths linked to the flu out of almost 10,000 confirmed cases.