H1N1 flu strain hits Westmount – but only mildly

City Councillor Kathleen Duncan recently had to bring her 9-year-old son, Jack, to their family doctor. “It happened very quickly,” said Duncan of the disease’s onset. “Jack developed aches and pains from head to toe, a severe headache, a very high fever — 104 degrees — and his eyes were bloodshot.” The doctor diagnosed a case of the flu, almost certainly the H1N1 strain. Flu cases were at that point so common, and for the most part so mild, that, said Duncan, “they weren’t even testing the children unless they were going to be admitted to hospital.”

The World Health Organization has classified the worldwide H1N1 pandemic as moderate, meaning that most patients suffer mild symptoms and recover fully without need for hospitalisation, that overall levels of fatality are similar to seasonal flu outbreaks, and that most medical systems around the world have been able to cope with the numbers of people seeking care. By early July, almost 10,000 cases of the H1N1 flu had been confirmed in Canada, with 878 people hospitalised and 37 dying. In the province of Quebec, almost 2,200 cases had been confirmed, with 426 hospitalisations and 14 deaths.

The City of Westmount is working with other levels of government to make preparations in case the pandemic should become more severe. The City began co-ordinating with the Agglomeration Council and the province in April, when reports of a potentially threatening flu virus surfaced, and has re-examined its Emergency Measures Plan to ensure it’s up-to-date. Currently, the City is focusing on providing access to information about the disease, maintaining links to information about the spread of H1N1 on its web site, and sending information out to summer camps.

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends speaking to a health professional if you experience severe flu-like symptoms. The government of Canada has promised to provide a flu vaccine for all Canadians who wish it.

For Duncan, there have been many more trying events in her time as a parent.

“The Norwalk virus was much worse,” she said. “Jack was very sick for a long time with H1N1, but when the Norwalk virus was here I wore surgical gloves every day. The kids were much sicker. It’s like chicken pox, it’s like any other childhood disease — part of parenting. I had three kids; there’s so much worse that can happen. H1N1 is a virus, it’s going to go away. I felt worse for Jack, not feeling well.”

And Jack’s reaction to being sick?

“Jack was thrilled,” said Duncan. “He missed the last week of school.”