Nunavut getting set for H1N1 vaccination

As the number of swine flu cases continues to rise in Nunavut, the Department of Health and Social Services is gearing up for a massive vaccination campaign this fall.

Federal officials have confirmed they have a Canadian manufacturer for the vaccine who should be able to supply enough of the serum this fall for everyone who wants it or needs it, Nunavut’s deputy medical officer of health, Dr. Geraldine Osborne, told Nunatsiaq News this week.

She said they know the vaccine should be available by November. Federal, provincial and territorial officials are meeting to hammer out details.

Health officials around the world are trying to prepare for the return of colder, wetter weather in the fall, when they fear the virus may come back in a more dangerous form.

“It will take a lot of work to roll out the vaccine program,” Osborne said. “We’ll have to hire extra staff.”

She noted that the H1N1 vaccine will probably require two doses, which will be in addition to the regular “seasonal flu” vaccination program.

Nunavut’s health department will also mount a marketing campaign to make sure everyone knows the program is available, and to encourage as many people as possible to be vaccinated.

Osborne said that just as with the seasonal flu vaccine, it is recommended for everyone over six months old, but especially for people at extra risk, including pregnant women and those with chronic health issues such as diabetes, cancer or heart or lung problems.

The number of confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Nunavut jumped by more than five per cent in the first few days of this month.

It increased from 465 on July 29 to 496 by Aug. 5, Osborne said. The 31 new cases were identified mainly in the Qikiqtani region.

A breakdown of the Aug. 5 figures show 53 per cent of cases have been in the Kivalliq region, 30 per cent in the Kitikmeot, and 17 per cent in Qikiqtani.

Those numbers represent the total cases in the territory since the first one was confirmed here May 28. The vast majority of the people who have contracted H1N1 did not require hospital treatment, and have recovered.

The cumulative numbers “just go up every day,” Osborne said. “I’m really more concerned about the hospitalized cases, and the serious cases that end up in intensive care.”

Four Nunavummiut with the virus were being treated in hospital as of Aug. 4, she said, and one of those was in intensive care. But by Aug. 5, two of them had been sent home, leaving just two hospitalized. Altogether, 44 people from Nunavut have been sent to hospital.

The territory recorded its first swine-flu fatality July 15 — a pregnant woman from the Kivalliq who had been in hospital since June 24.

A middle-aged woman who was listed as a resident of both Alberta and Nunavut, had already died in an Edmonton hospital June 30, the same day she was flown out from the Kitikmeot.

She had serious, pre-existing medical conditions, and officials said it was unclear how much the swine flu itself was actually responsible for her death.

A crisis like the H1N1 virus, officially listed as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, highlights the limitations of health-care facilities in places like Nunavut, where many communities don’t even have regular access to a doctor.

The only hospital is in Iqaluit, and most people have to be flown either there, or to Edmonton, Winnipeg or Ottawa — weather permitting — for all but the simplest medical procedures and care.

Still, the health department reports that no community health centres have been closed due to H1N1, although some clinics and non-urgent programs have been postponed to limit the spread of the virus.

H1N1 symptoms may include fever and cough, runny nose, sore throat, body aches, tired, loss of appetite, upset stomach, including vomiting or diarrhea. Unless they are severe, the health department advises staying at home and resting.

Only the very sick, or those with the pre-existing conditions of concern should call their local health centre.