Canada warns pregnant women about swine flu risksPregnant women are at a greater risk than the rest of the population of suffering serious complications from swine flu swine flu n. A highly contagious form of human influenza caused by a filterable virus identical or related to a virus formerly isolated from infected swine. , Canadian health authorities warned. "Thankfully, the majority of A(H1N1) illness in Canada is mild, but we are seeing that some people, including pregnant women, are more susceptible to serious illness and complications," said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq is from the Gjoa Haven, Nunavut area of Canada. Aglukkaq is currently the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the electoral district of Nattilik having won the seat in the 2004 Nunavut election. . Pregnant women who contract the flu virus strain run the risk of premature births and miscarriage, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Chief Public Health Officer David Butler-Jones Dr. David Butler-Jones is the current (as of September 2004) Chief Public Health Officer of Canada. He is the first person to hold the office. The Chief Public Health Officer is the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada. . Research suggests that pregnant women are not more susceptible to the A(H1N1) virus, but are at a greater risk of complications if they do get infected, Butler-Jones told reporters. He recommended that pregnant women take several precautions, ranging from following ordinary hygiene practices to "avoiding large crowds." Three pregnant women were among a group of six people who have been admitted to intensive care after contracting swine flu in one Canadian province Noun 1. Canadian province - Canada is divided into 12 provinces for administrative purposes province, state - the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation; "his state is in the deep south" , said Danielle Grondin, an assistant deputy minister at the Public Health Agency of Canada The Public Health Agency of Canada (French: Agence de la santé publique du Canada) is an agency of Health Canada a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness, and response and infectious and chronic disease control . She declined to name the province. Canadian health authorities said they had published guidelines for pregnant women infected with swine flu, as well as a factsheet with information for expectant mothers. Canada has a reserve of antiviral antiviral /an·ti·vi·ral/ (-vi´ral) destroying viruses or suppressing their replication, or an agent that so acts. an·ti·vi·ral adj. vaccinations, including 55 million doses of Tamiflu and Relenza, which authorities said were effective treatments and safe for use by pregnant women. A study is also underway to examine why some patients have developed more severe versions of the A(H1N1) virus than others. More than 9,700 people in Canada have contracted the A(H1N1) virus, the Public Health Agency said. So far, 894 cases have been severe enough to merit hospitalization, and 39 people have died from swine flu, it added. 
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion