[Breaking News] First H1N1 Flu in Manitoba - confirmed in Brandon

止爱之殇

[这个贴子最后由止爱之殇在 2009/05/04 11:49am 第 1 次编辑] http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Swine-flu-confirmed-in-Brandon-44291657.html A Brandon girl is the first Mani­toban to fall ill with H1N1 flu, but provincial health officials say there’s no need to close her school. The girl, who attends Riverheights School — a kindergarten to Grade 8 school — is recovering from only a mild case of swine flue and didn’t re­quire hospitalization. She travelled to Mexico, the southern United States and Vancouver in mid to late April. Dr. Joel Kettner, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, said Sunday there is no need to close her school or quarantine her family. He said the turmoil caused by inter­rupting the education of more than 300 students and forcing parents to miss work would be overkill since only mild cases of the illness have been reported in Canada so far. And, closing the school wouldn’t be very effective since kids still interact at parties, play dates and sporting events. The smarter approach is to continue asking sick kids to stay home, said Kettner. "We are strongly recommending that the school remain open," he said. "The students who feel well should attend school as per usual." Public health officials will be visit­ing Riverheights School today to an­swer questions and offer information to parents, staff and students. And health experts are tracking and monitoring all the people the child came into direct contact with since her return to make sure no one else gets sick. Direct con­tact generally means someone who was within sneezing distance — one or two metres. That includes family members and classmates. Kettner said it’s likely that the girl’s family and friends will get sick, but since the swine flu has so far been no worse than garden variety winter viruses, the risk posed by the girl is minimal. Principals from each of the 22 schools in the Brandon School Division (BSD) will meet today to discuss the division’s emergency response protocol, division superintendent Donna Michaels said Sunday. "Given that this is a potentially highly contagious issue, we follow (the emergency response protocol) to a T," Michaels said. "We want parents to know their schools are safe. We wouldn’t take a chance with children’s lives." School closure decisions are typical­ly made by the education minister, in consultation with Manitoba Health, but under provincial legislation Kettner can order schools closed. A letter from Manitoba Health will also be sent home with every student, and staff and students will be reminded to wash their hands, cough into their sleeve and stay at home if they’re not feeling well, Michaels said. "We’re reinforcing the message from public health. We’re very alert to the situation and that’s an important part of our job... and that we’re certain we’ve done everything we possibly can do," she said. As of Friday afternoon, about 18 people had been tested for swine flu in Manitoba, with just one positive case. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s top veterin­arian says Manitoba’s pork products are safe despite reports that more than 200 pigs on a central Alberta hog farm were found infected with human swine flu on the weekend. Dr. Wayne Lees, the province’s chief veterinary officer, said Sunday a host of biosecurity measures are in place, including mandatory showers that hog barn workers must take before and after they enter the barns and special clothing they wear while in the barns. And pigs undergo health inspections before and after they are slaughtered, and the province is testing swine for flu on an ongoing basis. No cases of the H1N1 strain have been found in Mani­toba’s hogs. "This is not a food safety issue," said Lees. "There is no indication that influ­enza is transmitted through properly prepared pork products."

tizcc

终于轮到曼省了..

lucylulu

是不是太冷的地方不那么容易得呢？