Hamilton: Flu virus spreading quickly, officials warn

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Source: http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/659722

H1N1 rate soars
Flu virus spreading quickly, officials warn
October 24, 2009
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 24, 2009)

H1N1 flu activity in Hamilton has already surpassed previous peak levels of seasonal flu and may still be on the rise, health officials say.

The number of positive H1N1 tests spiked to 21 per cent last week, up from 6 per cent the prior week, said Dr. Chris Mackie, Hamilton's associate medical officer of health.

"We're seeing more cases now than we did at any time in the last two years," Mackie said. "(H1N1) spreads a lot more easily and that's in part because we don't have a baseline level of immunity in the community."

Flu activity in Hamilton is "normally at zero" at this time of year, he said. A typical flu season runs from Christmas to March, with the number of positive tests usually at about 20 per cent.

But the novel H1N1 virus has broken with patterns, causing an initial wave of infections in the spring that tapered off through the summer.

Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, confirmed yesterday that a second wave of H1N1 has arrived in the province.

"Influenza activity in the province is continuing to increase," she said. "We are seeing that more people are visiting their health-care providers with influenza-like illness and more people are being hospitalized with complications from the flu in Ontario."

Halton has experienced a similar spike in positive H1N1 tests, said Dr. Bob Nosal, the region's medical officer of health.

Health officials can't test everyone with flu-like symptoms, but they use a sampling of lab tests from patients in hospitals, long-term care homes and doctors to evaluate the spread of the virus.

Hamilton and Halton will make the first batch of the H1N1 vaccine available to people in high-risk groups next week. The clinics will be opened to the general public as more vaccine comes in.

"It would have been nice to have the vaccine a couple of weeks ago before the increase in activity ... ," Nosal said. "We should still be able to make an impact on transmission."

npowell@thespec.com

 

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Re: Hamilton: Flu virus spreading quickly, officials warn

Source: http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/660980

Elementary grades hardest hit as students stay home with flu symptoms
October 27, 2009
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 27, 2009)

Nearly one-third of local public schools are battling respiratory outbreaks as the second wave of H1N1 influenza sweeps Hamilton.

Public health officials have identified outbreaks in 32 of 114 schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, with all but one at elementary schools.

Twenty-eight of the outbreaks have been declared since the beginning of last week, as schools reported a surge in the number of students absent with flu-like symptoms.

"The outbreaks are across the city; there is no specific geographical area where it's happening," said Jackie Penman, spokesperson for the public school board.

"We only had one or two schools prior to last week and then it definitely spiked."

Outbreaks were also declared at six of the 57 schools in Hamilton's Catholic school board yesterday, down from nine schools on Friday.

Those numbers are expected to change as absences grow among secondary students, said Jackie Bajus, superintendent of education for the board.

"It's definitely starting to hit the older kids," she said.

Meanwhile, emergency rooms were "inundated" with people experiencing flu symptoms over the weekend, said Bill Krizmanich, chief of emergency medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences. The flood of patients is straining emergency departments and driving wait times higher.

People experiencing mild symptoms should call their family doctors and only use emergency rooms if they are severely ill, he said.

"We still have to maintain our responsibility to treat all those patients who don't have flu."

Hamilton's public health department is notified when more than 5 per cent of students in a school stay home with flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fever.

Public health then monitors the school for several days, looking for signs of ongoing transmission, before declaring an outbreak.

The public health department isn't testing for the H1N1 virus in every school, but there's "a good chance" it's behind most of the respiratory outbreaks, said Dr. Chris Mackie, Hamilton's associate medical officer of health.

"I'll put it this way -- we haven't identified any outbreaks that aren't pandemic H1N1," he said.

One school in the public board reported 30 per cent of its students absent, though some may have been kept home for other reasons or as a preventive measure, said John Forbeck, superintendent of staff and community engagement. He declined to identify the school.

In Halton as of yesterday, 23 of the region's 140 Catholic and public schools had at least 5 per cent of students away following a dramatic increase last week, said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health. Nine schools reported 10 per cent or more of their students absent with flu-like symptoms, he added.

The first wave of H1N1 arrived in Halton in the spring, hitting Oakville schools first before spreading to Burlington. This time, the virus is scattered throughout the region, Nosal said, causing the most illness in Burlington schools.

In Hamilton, letters are sent home advising parents that a school has more than 5 per cent absenteeism and reminding them of needed precautions. Halton isn't declaring outbreaks so no letters are sent home.

The Hamilton and Halton school boards have arranged additional daily cleaning in schools with specific instructions to disinfect surfaces. The public board also called a special meeting of principals yesterday to review flu protocols.

npowell@thespec.com