VANCOUVER - While the number of H1N1 infections remains low to moderate throughout much of Canada, British Columbia has seen a significant and sudden rise in cases, registering its eighth death earlier this week as health officials grapple with a flu outbreak that is unprecedented for the province this time of year.
"British Columbia is now well into what we might call the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic," Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said at a news conference at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control Friday.
"Compared to the rest of the country we are seeing significantly higher numbers of influenza-like illness at this time. Our rates of prescribing of antivirals have gone up to about 5,000 a week."
Kendall, who was joined at the news conference by federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and national public health officer Dr. David Butler-Jones, said the B.C. disease control laboratory is testing about 700 samples every day.
"Half of those are being positive for influenza and just about all of those are positive for the pandemic H1N1 strain so that clearly is the major circulating virus at the present time," he said.
But other provinces are bracing for similar spikes in the so-called swine flu.
Asked why B.C. was particularly hard hit, Kendall said it's not unusual for influenza to move across the country in waves.
"Sometimes one province is relatively unaffected, whereas others are affected. As for why, somebody has to be first," he said.
Though the number of H1N1 cases in B.C. has risen, Kendall said that hasn't come as a surprise to health officials who've been preparing for such an outcome.
That message was seconded by Aglukkaq, who said Canadians can rest assured the proper preparations have been made on the federal level.
"We have stockpiled antiviral medications in strategic locations throughout the country so that they can be distributed quickly, even to isolated communities if they are needed," she said.
Aglukkaq said health officials have observed a slight increase in influenza activity throughout Canada of late.
"Although it is not yet significant enough to constitute the beginning of the second wave, we do expect to see an increase in cases as the fall advances," she said, urging Canadians to stay informed on the largest vaccination campaign in the country's history.
The H1N1 vaccine is still in production and will be available in early November. Aglukkaq stressed the vaccine will not be released until it has been thoroughly tested.
Butler-Jones said the most important action Canadians can take to prevent infection and stop the spread of the pandemic is to get vaccinated.
"Follow the advice of your provincial or territorial or local medical officers of health. They are the ones that know what's going on," he said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says there have been 80 H1N1-associated deaths in the country to date.
The most recent death in B.C. was that of a woman in her mid-20s who tested positive for the H1N1 pandemic strain. Officials have yet to determine if the woman suffered from any underlying health conditions.
"If it does prove to be somebody who has no underlying risk condition that we can attribute to, that is not new. We expected some cases will occur in people who are previously healthy."
