CALGARY - A young Alberta girl with Canada's only case of swine flu serious enough to require hospitalization is getting better and breathing on her own, says the province's chief medical health officer.
The girl is still in an Edmonton hospital, however, Dr. Andre Corriveau said Tuesday.
"I can tell you today that she's recovering well," he said. "Her condition is improving."
Corriveau wouldn't confirm a comment from the federal health minister Monday that the girl was in intensive care. He also wouldn't say whether she had needed a ventilator at any point.
He said he couldn't go into details about why the girl suffered serious symptoms when other cases in the country have been mild, although he noted that some underlying conditions can exacerbate influenza's impact.
"The prime reason (she was in the hospital) was the swine flu," he said. "But the other thing we're saying is there may be other factors that were part of the overall picture."
The update on the girl's condition came as the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada rose to 165.
Corriveau confirmed two more infections in Alberta -- a young woman and a boy -- bringing the total in that province to 26. The adult recently travelled in Mexico, while the boy's parents were also in the Latin American country. Both were recovering at home.
Ontario reported five new cases: one in Ottawa, one in Toronto and three others in the Toronto area. That brought the total in the province to 36.
The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control reported that seven more people had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, for a total of 46. Officials said those with the illness were either recovered or were recovering.
In Quebec, one new case brought the province's total to four. The most recent infection was in a person from the Lanaudiere region who had returned recently from Mexico.
The Nova Scotia government said another 10 cases of swine flu were confirmed, for a total of 48 in that province. Authorities said all the Nova Scotia cases have been mild.
Corriveau said the fact the Alberta girl is the only person to require hospitalization so far is an encouraging sign. It suggests the virus isn't any stronger than any other seasonal flu strain.
The virus "at this point in time doesn't seem to be particularly virulent. It actually looks like it's probably even milder than many of the flu seasons we've had in the past few years," he said.
The Public Health Agency's website says, on average, the common flu sends about 20,000 Canadians to hospital each year. Between 4,000 and 8,000 can die of influenza and its complications annually, depending on the severity of the season.
