Alberta-Nunavut woman with H1N1 dies in Edmonton

(Updated July 10)

The governments of Nunavut and Alberta reported this week that a middle-aged woman carrying the swine flu virus and who is recognized as a resident of both jurisdictions died June 30 in an Edmonton hospital.

“The person was H1N1 positive but it is still not clear what role the H1N1 virus played in the death as the individual had chronic pre-existing medical conditions,” Government of Nunavut health officials said July 8 in a news release.

The Government of Alberta, in a July 6 news release, says the woman died June 30. A GN news release then said the woman died July 3, but the GN later changed that date to June 30.

The Calgary Herald newspaper said July 6 that the woman had a home in Edmonton, but was living outside Alberta to be closer to family.

The middle-age woman “got sick in another province or territory,” was medevaced to Edmonton June 30, and died the same day.

“I want to express my sympathy to the family at this difficult time,” Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta’s chief medical health officer, said in the Alberta news release.

Alberta and Nunavut officials each caution that the woman suffered from pre-existing health conditions and that they aren’t sure what role swine flu played in her death.

Corriveau told the Calgary Herald that the woman was from a “distant'” community but gave few other details.

“She was seriously ill and they can’t provide the care where she was… We have hospitals that can provide higher levels of care than some jurisdictions,” Corriveau told the Herald.

Meanwhile, the GN reports that as of July 8 they have recorded 372 lab-confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Nunavut.

Sixty per cent are from the Kivalliq region, 37 per cent from the Kitikmeot region and three per cent from the Baffin region.

Thirty-eight Nunavut residents have been treated in hospital. Of those, 27 have been released.

The GN says they are seeing decreasing numbers of patients with flu-like symptoms and that they are now concentrating their testing on people at high risk and on communities where the virus has yet to be detected.

And they continue to offer the following advice

• Wash your hands often – in warm, soapy water or by using hand sanitizer.
• Cough and sneeze in your arm.
• Stay in your house if you experience any of the symptoms of the flu. If you think you are getting worse, call your community health centre.