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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonto ... flu-death-h1n1.html
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A young woman with no pre-existing health issues has been confirmed as Calgary's first death linked to the H1N1 flu.
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The victim, who was not named, had been sick for about two weeks before she was admitted to a Calgary hospital on June 29, said Dr. Richard Musto, medical officer of health for Calgary and area, on Thursday.3 B/ @6 d1 `. h/ ?! T$ |
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Tests confirmed she had swine flu on June 30, and she died Wednesday night, he said.
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- Q/ G* D( }9 K% T- a$ }"That's our assumption, that swine flu was a major contribution to her death," Musto told reporters.
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3 @' d5 M7 E/ n: H) c9 I"We're not exactly sure where she contracted it, but there's no travel history that's relevant."0 q* H8 s( T& Q' A0 h3 }
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Musto did not name the hospital to which the woman was admitted but said that regular procedures were followed to "effectively protect other patients and staff."5 @4 z; i T. @) g& Y9 V2 D
$ f; P0 w+ Z0 fThe death is the third in Alberta that's been linked to swine flu. Two women with pre-existing medical conditions — one in the Edmonton area and one in northern Alberta — were the other cases.9 p" N' U! s$ b5 q
x* E7 f; A( R8 _) Y" [Alberta has registered more than 1,100 cases of swine flu since the influenza outbreak began in Mexico in March.1 t; {! V9 Q7 t8 x& U% @: K
) }6 i' e/ |" b( q- o* D"This is a global epidemic; most people will only have mild illness," he said.
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8 G! a6 _7 Y9 g, gThe majority of people who contract the virus — which comes with flu-like symptoms including fever, lethargy and coughing — recover, said Musto.
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"Generally, the complication that occurs is pneumonia and respiratory failure," he said.
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9 c' {" e% F' H" rNot connected to children's hospital cases
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Officials said the death is not connected to an outbreak this week at the Alberta Children's Hospital, when two patients and a staff member were diagnosed with the H1N1 flu. A unit on the hospital's third floor was isolated to prevent the flu's spread.
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$ T* `2 O$ H9 h( MThe patients were isolated in their private rooms on the weekend when they became symptomatic, and the staff member stayed at home upon becoming ill, said Musto.( X4 t% w7 j- I q
. B# ?/ w% p, s! t% zTed Woynillowicz of Friends of Medicare in Calgary questioned why officials publicized the children's hospital while the facility where the woman was treated was not named.2 D1 h7 \) {* g8 y) G3 C0 Q
" Q1 b- x6 \; N4 e' t \1 a"I think there's kind of a lack of consistency. And I think it should be publicized if it affects the public in some way," he said.
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% W' |0 y. O# e/ g+ b2 O' ^5 P% sEvery year 4,000 Canadians die from the flu and a high percentage of them have underlying conditions that play a large part in making them susceptible to serious consequences when they get the flu, he said. |
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