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http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/ ... 0/10095311-sun.html
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OTTAWA — In the midst of the tourism season, public officials are urging people with fragile health to avoid the face-to-face contact of crowded festivals and concerts, where H1N1 flu could easily spread.
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9 x1 a2 j5 y3 H/ \7 qYesterday, they aimed a particular warning at pregnant women who, while no more susceptible than others to H1N1, may suffer severe effects if they catch it.
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9 Q, q2 g" R9 t: _“If you’re someone who’s at greater risk of severe illness, someone who’s pregnant or someone who’s got underlying chronic conditions like diabetes, then if you get ill your risk of having severe disease is greater,” said David Butler-Jones, Canada’s chief public health officer.* r9 r- L1 I( k% B- P
$ P6 V. N" z1 J9 o0 S3 |: T“Avoiding situations where you’re exposed is the smart thing to do.”
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3 W8 G6 s+ L/ |2 K0 o BHealth Canada yesterday issued new guidelines for physicians treating pregnant women. Butler-Jones said the H1N1 illness may heighten the risk of miscarriage or early delivery.
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“The immune system is not as able to respond as that same woman would be if she’s not pregnant,” he said.
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Butler-Jones also warned those who already have symptoms to avoid crowds. “If you are sick yourself, don’t go sharing it with anyone else. You never know who you’re going to affect and how severely they’re going to become ill.”* ]: v3 t; ]% U! }) `& S+ M
5 k9 h5 t2 h# }5 PHe didn’t suggest healthy people spurn outdoor summer crowds, but his words come just as the major summer festival season is underway in Canada — ranging from the Winnipeg Folk Festival to a major blues festival in Ottawa to the huge Paul McCartney outdoor concert in Halifax Saturday night.) j r, K' j: I! I
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Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer has said people who are ill should avoid such venues out of a sense of “altruism” for the health of others.+ t, D9 d1 a; C. i3 x L6 S
! }& T, o+ C6 g0 f+ u3 j+ c3 }It’s unclear how much impact H1N1 has had on tourist activities in Canada this summer.
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3 I& @* M5 u" Y! N7 H8 h, y2 WChris Jones, vice-president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said the economic recession and new passport controls at the U.S. border have been the main hurdles for the struggling industry. H1N1, he said, has had “no discernible impact.”
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But “I wouldn’t want to discount this thing completely,” Jones added. “We could have done without it — let’s put it that way.”
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Ottawa Tourism president and CEO Noel Buckley said, “People have heard of the issue and I think are going about their daily lives.”
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Manitoba Health spokeswoman Lenore Kowalchuk said, “If you’ve got flu-like symptoms, maybe don’t go to a festival or go to work.” But healthy people need not avoid normal activities, she added.
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On Friday, the Public Health Agency of Canada said it plans to change its reporting of H1N1 cases. Many provinces are only updating their figure once a week now, and the World Health Organization might ask nations to stop reporting all cases.8 O2 q- f( }4 r" i
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Butler-Jones said it would be better to focus on clusters of cases and more severe disease. |
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