metronews.ca
Loading....
Loading...
Local
Loading...
|
Canada
Loading...
|
World
Loading...
|
Business
Loading...
|
Sports
|
Entertainment
|
Movies
Loading...
|
Columns
Loading...
|
Blogs
Loading...
|
Life
|
Games
|
x
HomeLocal

Officials warn against complacency as H1N1 cases decline

  Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax

Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, at a press conference at One Government Place yesterday.

PAUL MCLEOD
METRO HALIFAX
November 26, 2009 12:05 a.m.
       Text size          

The second H1N1 wave is declining, but people still need to guard against a potential third wave, provincial health officials stressed yesterday.

In his weekly H1N1 update, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Strang, said the numbers of people going to hospital with severe flu symptoms never hit worst-case scenario predictions and are now dropping.

But Strang said people need to get vaccinated to head off the “strong likelihood” of another outbreak in the winter or spring.

“It is a personal choice to get immunized, but people need to understand the choice they make affects not just themselves,” Strang said.

“They may be the person who has mild disease but the person that they spread it to sitting on the bus or sitting beside them at work may be the person who gets severely ill and ends up in hospital or perhaps even dies.”

The province is receiving more than 300,000 doses of vaccine this week and next. Strang said scarcity of vaccine is no longer a problem.

In the week starting Nov. 15, there were 28 new confirmed H1N1 hospitalizations, as well as two deaths – a man and a woman, both in their 40s and with underlying health conditions.

But overall, the percentage of emergency room visits for people with influenza-like illness fell to 15 per cent from 24 per cent the previous week.

QEII Health Sciences director of virology and immunology Todd Hatchette said despite recent H1N1 ebbing, people should not become complacent.

“There is something different about this virus that separates it from seasonal flu," he said. "As an infectious disease physician, when you walk through the (intensive care unit) and see half the beds filled with people being treated for influenza is quite abnormal.

“You never see this in a seasonal flu epidemic.”

More about H1N1
Don't be greedy, share this article:                                       

User Comments & Ratings Comment as guest
more local stories

Random tests show marijuana drug of choice in Canadian military ranks

OTTAWA - Marijuana is the illegal drug of choice in the Canadian Forces, according to the first random tests of the entire military.

Ontario to unveil new Taser guidelines

TORONTO - Ontario is poised to revamp its guidelines on the use of stun guns by police, The Canadian Press has learned.

Man found with stolen goods after hailing cruiser with middle finger

KENORA, Ont. - An Edmonton man who used his middle finger to flag down a cruiser in northern Ontario has been charged with stolen property offences.

Alberta to fight oilsands 'propaganda'

CALGARY - The Alberta government will be rolling out initiatives over the next few weeks to combat "propaganda campaigns" against the oilsands, the province's energy minister told a business audience Wednesday.

Metro Canada grows to 1.3 million daily readers

While most people are drinking beer and wearing green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Metro Canada is celebrating for a different reason. Metro Canada’s readership has continued to grow, making it the most read national daily newspaper in Canada, according to the Newspaper Audience Databank.

editor's picks

Blood-hurling Thai protesters vow to stay in capital indefinitely

BANGKOK, Thailand - Leaders of Thailand's anti-government protesters, who have hurled their own blood at the offices and home of the prime minister, said Wednesday they will remain camped out in capital indefinitely, though in smaller numbers.

Mock reality TV electrocutions probe power of TV

PARIS - A state-run TV channel is stirring controversy with a documentary about a fake game show in which credulous participants obey orders to deliver increasingly powerful electric shocks to a man, who is really an actor, until he appears to die.

Brazilian president places wreath at Arafat's tomb, risking Israeli ire

Brazil's president placed a wreath on the tomb of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday and sharply criticized Israeli policies, leading Israeli officials to suggested he was not being evenhanded.

Desperation amid abortion crackdown in former 'Abortion Republic'

SEOUL, South Korea - Having a third child wasn't in Mrs. Kim's plans. She and her husband are already struggling to get by.

Saskatchewan NDP calls for release of Tommy Douglas security files

REGINA - The Saskatchewan NDP wants the federal government to fully disclose decades-old intelligence gathered on socialist icon and former premier Tommy Douglas.


F E A T U R E D   S P O N S O R S

READ THE PRINT
EDITION ONLINE:
LOCAL GUIDES