Toronto, Ontario (AHN) - Influenza A (H1N1) claimed a third Canadian
victim over the weekend. According to Ontario Ministry of Health spokesman
Andrew Morrison the third fatality to have died of swine flu is an Ontario man
who has been confined at a hospital for quite some time and has other medical
conditions.
Morrison said the ministry is still unsure what role the flu virus played which
led to the man's death. The male victim was confirmed for the H1N1 virus several
weeks ago.
On Friday, Ontario acting chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams
disclosed that the second fatality, identified in media as Ravinjan Paramsothy,
died of pneumonia that apparently was of bacterial origin, based on the autopsy
report from the Office of the Chief Coroner. Williams added there was evidence
of significant heart disease on Paramsothy.
With the discovery of 131 new laboratory confirmed swine flu cases in the
province, Ontario's H1N1 headcount as of Friday was 626. It is broken down into
315 men, 309 women and two patients with unknown gender.
Across Canada, as of Monday, the total of laboratory-confirmed H1N1 cases went
up to 1,530 people following the addition of 194 on Friday, according to data
from the Public Health Agency of Canada. By province, Ontario still topped the
list with 715 cases followed by Quebec with 309. Among the Canadian province and
territories only Newfoundland and Labrador has remained swine flu-free since the
pandemic broke out last month.
Source : AHN
