Re: Second H1N1 death in Halton
Halton records second death blamed on H1N1
By Tim Foran, Metroland Media
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A second Halton resident has fallen victim to the H1N1 influenza virus.
Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal reported yesterday afternoon a man in his 80s living in a nursing home in Halton died earlier this week from a lab-confirmed case of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus.
It?s against the Region?s policy to give out details such as the victim?s name, residence or when he died, but Nosal confirmed he did have an underlying disease. He was admitted to hospital last week.
A woman in her seventies became Halton?s first H1N1 victim when she died early this month after being hospitalized with the virus. She also had underlying health issues.
?Normally there would be more deaths expected every year from seasonal influenza as compared to two confirmed deaths (from H1N1 influenza) in seniors,? said Nosal.
Nosal estimated 10 to 15 people die from seasonal influenza in Halton each year, based on Halton?s population and provincial influenza statistics.
However, he said the majority of them would go unreported to the health department as there would be no laboratory testing completed.
Similarly, other Halton residents could have died this year with unconfirmed and therefore not reported cases of H1N1, said Nosal
.
?For example, if an elderly person dies with pneumonia, that can be due to a number of causes. But certainly this winter, it may be due to (pandemic) H1N1,? he said.
The Province?s Ministry of Health states the evidence thus far has shown older people are less likely to become infected with H1N1, possibly because they have developed residual immunity after being exposed to a similar virus when they were younger. However, seniors with underlying medical conditions are more vulnerable to serious complications and death if they do contract the disease.
Following Provincial direction, the Halton Region Health Department began offering the vaccine against H1N1 to persons over 65 years of age only last week. The Region delivered doses of the vaccine to the long-term care homes in the region last Tuesday, but Nosal said it was a ?moot point? if the new victim had been given an injection as it wouldn?t have been in time to help him.
?Even if you?re given the injection, it takes up to ten days to develop immunity (to H1N1),? Nosal said.
Nosal didn?t criticize the Province for leaving seniors off the original priority list to receive the H1N1 vaccine. He said it was a national-provincial scientific advisory committee that looked at available data and decided on the original list of six priority recipients of the H1N1 vaccine, a decision made necessary due to a shortage of the vaccine.
Beginning Wednesday, the Region started to administer the injections to the general public. He said the four public vaccination clinics distributed 3,600 doses that day.
Wait times at the Burlington and Oakville clinics stood at about a half hour around 3 p.m. Thursday, while those in Georgetown and Milton were less than 10 minutes.
For updated wait times and more information on H1N1, visit
www.halton.ca.
http://www.stratfordgazette.com/georgetown/article/80946
