A/H1N1 flu "leveling off" in Canada

The number of new A/H1N1 flu cases in Canada is starting to level off but it remains unclear if the peak for this season has passed, health officials said Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

"... In most communities, the number of positive tests has fallen and there have been fewer reports of flu outbreaks in schools," Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler- Jones, told a news conference in Ottawa.

However, in the last few weeks, the number of people with influenza-like illness seeking medical treatment was still four to seven times higher than what is usually seen at this time of year for seasonal flu, he said.
But people should still be cautious as it is impossible to tell whether a peak in new infections has occurred until after the fact. At the same time A/H1N1 infections occur in waves and do not hit all areas at the same time.

Butler-Jones estimated that in Canada, for every 100,000 people who do not get the vaccine, 25,000 will become infected, 25 to 100 will end up in hospital and half a dozen will likely die.
By the end of this week, more than 15 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine will have been distributed to provinces and territories, enough to immunize half the population, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said at the news conference.

So far, one-quarter of Canadians, more than eight million people, have received the H1N1 vaccine, she said.

There have been 24 cases of confirmed anaphylaxis among people who received the A/H1N1 shot in Canada.

Overall, there has been less than one case of severe allergic reaction for every 300,000 doses of vaccine given so far. The exact rate is 0.32 cases per 100,000 doses, Butler-Jones said.
As of Tuesday, the total number of lab-confirmed deaths in Canada since the pandemic began in the spring is 304.