It’s being called the worst outbreak of H1N1 across Alberta, since the pandemic in 2009 that killed tens of thousands of people around the world.
There have been 965 cases of influenza in Alberta and 920 of those were H1N1. “What we are seeing this year is the majority of H1N1 cases,” says Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Medical Officer of Health for the South Zone.
“ We have not seen this many cases in the region since the pandemic in 2009.”
Alberta Health says there have been 10 people hospitalized with H1N1 at the Chinook Regional Hospital and some have been in intensive care.
In Calgary the resurgence of H1N1 has people there now scrambling to get their flu shots, with a long line winding out the door of the Brentwood clinic on Thursday afternoon. But despite the mass immunization clinics being held in other parts of the province, Alberta Health says there will be no mass clinics in Southern Alberta at this point.
Southern Albertan’s are encouraged to go to their Doctor or pharmacy for the flu shot.
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