Updated: Fri Nov. 06 2009 15:46:56
ctvottawa.ca
At least five swine flu-related deaths have been reported in eastern Ontario and west Quebec within the last week.
Health officials in Ottawa reported the latest death on Friday. The victim was a middle-aged person from the Ottawa-area with significant underlying health problems.
Since the beginning of September, three swine flu-related deaths have been reported in the capital. So far, seven people in Ottawa have died from swine flu since the virus started to spread in the spring.
In west Quebec, two people with underlying health conditions have died from the virus this week. A middle-aged man from Cornwall also died last weekend. He had an underlying health condition.
Meanwhile, health officials in Ottawa confirmed 94 cases of H1N1 this week, bringing the number of confirmed cases of swine flu to 265 since the beginning of September. Eighty-one people are currently hospitalized with the virus.
Although school absentee levels are starting to stabilize in Ottawa, one in four schools is still reporting higher than normal absenteeism.
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit, which covers Alexandria, Casselman, Chesterville, Cornwall, Hawkesbury and Rockland, says 60 per cent of their schools are experiencing "outbreaks."
Concern has also caused some parents to keep their healthy children at home.
"I just don't like people downplaying the fact that one death in a million isn't so bad. Well yeah, that would be if you were that kid's parent," said Lisa Peck, who decided to pull her healthy seven-year-old daughter from her Ottawa school.
"For the family that loses that perfectly healthy child, that's way too many."
Peck said although she realizes the number of deaths from swine flu is relatively low, parents still need to be aware of the risk.
She said she chose to take her daughter out of school and start homeschooling her because she doesn't think classrooms are the safest place for children to be during a flu pandemic.
"It's so dirty. You can tell children to wash their hands, sneeze into the crock of their arms, but let's be realistic, children are children," she said.
In Ottawa, about 110,000 people have been immunized for H1N1. That number is expected to jump to 140,000 people by the end of the weekend.
The city is set to receive 30,000 more individual doses of the vaccine on Friday, which means flu clinics will likely be able to continue operating into next week.
Although some parts of eastern Ontario are reporting a wane in swine flu cases, health officials cautioned that instances of serious illness and death are still expected.
"Even if we peak over the next few weeks, this will remain with us much longer," said Dr. Vivek Goel, of the Ontario health protection agency.
Health officials in Ottawa say the capital is still experiencing the second wave of the virus.
"We're not able to say that we've hit a peak until we're past the peak," said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's associate medical officer of health.
Expectant mothers who want to get the H1N1 vaccine will be able to get the adjuvanted or non-adjuvanted flu shot at one of three locations in Ottawa on Saturday. Each of those clinics will be opened from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Although three Ottawa hospitals will be holding the clinics, the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and the Montfort Hospital will limit clients to pregnant women who are already patients at their hospitals. All other expectant mothers are advised to attend the clinic at the Ottawa Hospital's Riverside Campus.
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