Timmins boy, 15, dies after falling ill with swine

[Red Squirrel]

Scary, I did not even realize it had gotten this bad here. I was aware of a few isolated cases but that's about it. I work in the hospital which is the most likely place to catch it if someone has it. Fun stuff.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/articl...-with-swine-flu

A teenage boy in Timmins has died after testing positive for the H1N1 virus, local health authorities report.

On Tuesday, the Porcupine Health Unit, which serves parts of northeastern Ontario, was notified that tests on 2 male teens tested positive for H1N1 subtype of influenza A. One of the teens was hospitalized and passed away, and the other is recovering at home, they reported on Wednesday.

The death comes a few days after a study reported that young Canadians, specifically those in their 30s, are most susceptible to contracting the virus and need rapid access to care once admitted to hospital.

Dr. Robert Fowler, a critical care physician at Sunnybrook Hospital said the most surprising results in his study was the young age of patients and their need for aggressive treatment. The mean age of patients in his study was 32 – and 67 per cent of them were female.

Fowler said the early treatment with antiviral medicine and aggressive therapy will keep Canadian deaths low.

From April 13 to October 7 of this year, 25 deaths have been reported among people who have confirmed cases of the virus in Ontario. Twenty two of those were hospitalized prior to their deaths, and 12 were male and 13 were female. The median age was 56 years.

The youngest death reported in Ontario was 6-year-old Rubjit Thindal, a Brampton girl who died in June within 24 hours of exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Her parents said she was a healthy, active girl. After her death, public health officials urged people not to panic and pull their children from school.

The Porcupine Health Unit has plans to work with local schools to talk to concerned staff students and parents.

Dr. Susan Kaczmarek, the Medical Officer of Health in Timmins, wrote that H1N1 is a "community acquired disease" and people can be exposed practically anywhere.

-With files from Emily Mathieu

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