 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonto ... flu-death-h1n1.html
* h/ a F- q; B9 M4 F u- Z5 Y! _) s$ N
A young woman with no pre-existing health issues has been confirmed as Calgary's first death linked to the H1N1 flu.1 j( o! P0 H9 a% w' n( b& L
4 R4 D" ]5 o; G) a6 S8 @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.9 s! d5 Z8 f! S' M( x5 N% l
: Y3 ]+ t G& R8 O) c8 H0 q
Tests confirmed she had swine flu on June 30, and she died Wednesday night, he said.
4 o% t- L+ c# i% l; B! {8 @9 d
: w/ H+ @) \6 O S3 C* M"That's our assumption, that swine flu was a major contribution to her death," Musto told reporters.
- z& ?! q% `( l7 S" {+ R% `6 t4 Y7 a1 d8 X" k) o
"We're not exactly sure where she contracted it, but there's no travel history that's relevant."
f/ c' K+ o- Q! q& ^2 Y) l- ~- _! T) e$ Y
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."8 W7 Z b, t$ A! C
9 m$ c D( g0 b! B" [7 n
The 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.
! g8 V0 a/ H. r7 e5 M
9 ?7 e0 [$ C7 EAlberta has registered more than 1,100 cases of swine flu since the influenza outbreak began in Mexico in March.
1 a5 H6 m7 E* o$ q( F1 M. q
6 C9 X- {3 z* e( [4 s8 _"This is a global epidemic; most people will only have mild illness," he said.
2 h; k7 m( L! z" U/ W7 O
. [6 y1 V! P2 xThe majority of people who contract the virus — which comes with flu-like symptoms including fever, lethargy and coughing — recover, said Musto.( q. d$ V0 s+ W" I0 J9 W; t9 B3 F
) U. X9 D/ G2 i) Z: f$ M"Generally, the complication that occurs is pneumonia and respiratory failure," he said.
2 h* [; }# x7 M5 a) Z$ h* {1 h$ z& n' ]; g9 P
6 ^5 T% B$ G, I
Not connected to children's hospital cases) W8 m4 Y ?4 D
% @% D9 t7 k5 R; G% l
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.
! {. X* R4 A1 E9 e7 a6 {
& p# |% P) D1 x* K5 [8 ~! _5 ]/ r) u( gThe 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.' `7 R5 X7 c Y, o0 o0 V; [
1 \; ?; }; L/ x/ _: R5 T& C- s: D" aTed 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.5 U1 Y8 ~9 U0 G
" O% f J* G0 j* ?
"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.
8 Y1 T a( e! H6 l) }, x$ Q
% b, J* o6 l5 Z3 I9 |Every 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. |
|