Third Canadian Influenza A (H1N1) Victim Dies
Reported June 02, 2009
Toronto, Ontario (AHN) – Influenza A (H1N1) claimed a third Canadian victim over the weekend. According to Ontario Ministry of Health spokesman Andrew Morrison the third fatality to have died of swine flu is an Ontario man who has been confined at a hospital for quite some time and has other medical conditions.
Morrison said the ministry is still unsure what role the flu virus played which led to the man’s death. The male victim was confirmed for the H1N1 virus several weeks ago.
On Friday, Ontario acting chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams disclosed that the second fatality, identified in media as Ravinjan Paramsothy, died of pneumonia that apparently was of bacterial origin, based on the autopsy report from the Office of the Chief Coroner. Williams added there was evidence of significant heart disease on Paramsothy.
With the discovery of 131 new laboratory confirmed swine flu cases in the province, Ontario’s H1N1 headcount as of Friday was 626. It is broken down into 315 men, 309 women and two patients with unknown gender.
Across Canada, as of Monday, the total of laboratory-confirmed H1N1 cases went up to 1,530 people following the addition of 194 on Friday, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada. By province, Ontario still topped the list with 715 cases followed by Quebec with 309. Among the Canadian province and territories only Newfoundland and Labrador has remained swine flu-free since the pandemic broke out last month.
Source : AHN