The Vancouver Island Health Authority says the Canadian Medical Association Journal has been "irresponsible and inflammatory" for saying an Aboriginal community in B.C. is suffering through Canada's first H1N1 "pandemic outbreak" this flu season.
Officials say that the outbreak is not new, and that in fact there have been six confirmed cases over the last several weeks.
In the CMAJ report, released Thursday, a Tofino, B.C. doctor says he has treated dozens of patients suffering from a "fairly mild" form of the virus in the remote Aboriginal settlement of Ahousat, near Vancouver Island.
B.C.'s Healthy Living and Sport Minister Ida Chong confirmed that a woman in the province died from H1N1 flu. The woman had an underlying medical condition.
But Chong says Tamiflu, "gloves, masks and other medical supplies are all being made available," adding that the B.C. government is monitoring the situation in the First Nations communities.
Dr. Charmaine Enns of the Vancouver Health Authority says Ahouat, the community named in the journal is not the first to be hit by the virus. She says H1N1 has been circulating across Canada since last spring, and is present in many communities.
In the journal article, Dr. John Armstrong said that B.C. health authorities confirmed to him all his patients in Ahousat tested positive for H1N1.
B.C. health officials "more or less told us to stop taking swabs because the lab is getting swamped in Vancouver," Armstrong said.
Ahousat is one of the main settlements of the Ahousaht First Nation. It is led by chief Shawn Atleo. He was elected the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations in July.
The community is only accessible by boat or plane.
Dr. Armstrong said none of his patients have died. He said most of his patients are adults between 20 and 40 years of age.
A child who doesn't live on a reserve is in intensive care, suffering from the virus and a girl from a reserve just outside Victoria is also in hospital.
With files from The Canadian Press
