N.B. health-care workers 1st to get flu shot

New Brunswick health-care workers will be the first in Canada to roll up their sleeves and get the swine flu shot starting Thursday.

The Health Department said it will begin by vaccinating those workers who will be giving the shots to everybody else. The province expects to have the vaccination program completed by December.

Full article: here.

Medical official urges flu vaccine for athletes

Bob McCormack, chief medical officer for Canada’s Olympic team, told reporters Tuesday that athletes should be among the first vaccinated against the H1N1 flu strain because of the communal conditions of the international games.

He said the Olympics are a breeding ground for disease as thousands of people from all over the world converge in a small, contained area for the duration of the Games.

Full Article: here.

For flu-wary Olympians, hygenic fist bump trumps high-five

The looming threat of the spread of the H1N1 flu virus will usher in a new era of etiquette among Canadian athletes at next year’s Olympics in Vancouver.

Handshakes? Out. High-fives? No way. The cheek-to-cheek kiss? Forget it.

“You’re supposed to pound fists with people now,” said Bryce Davison, who with Jessica Dubé is one of Canada’s medal hopefuls in pairs figure skating.

After a pause and a laugh, he adds: “It will be interesting.”

Full Article: here.

Google Flu Trends tool comes to Canada

Google Flu Trends, an internet search tool that tracks the spread of influenza as an early warning of outbreaks, expanded to Canada and 15 other countries on Thursday.

The company said it launched the tool in the U.S. last November after finding a close relationship between how many people searched for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms.

Full article: here.

Scotland funds nurses returning in swine flu pandemic

Nurses and midwives returning to work in Scotland to help in any worsening of the H1N1 outbreak will have their re-registration costs paid for by the Scottish government.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has written to former members whose registration has lapsed in the previous four years to encourage them to re-register. This would make them available to employers in the event of a surge in the pandemic.

Full article: here.

Singapore launches program to ensure business continuity during flu pandemic

Singapore launched on Tuesday a program to help businesses remain undisrupted in times of a possible flu pandemic.

The Flu Pandemic Business Continuity Program targets to help at least 1,000 companies become flu pandemic prepared by the end of 2010.

It is part of a 30 million Singapore dollars (20.98 million U.S. dollars) National Business Continuity Management Program announced last year.

Full article: here.

MDs, nurses pressing for more specific pandemic plan

Canada’s doctors and nurses pressed MPs to help fill the gaps in the national pandemic plan Monday, urging them to ask the government for more consistent communication. They also warned they do not yet feel prepared for a second wave of the H1N1 pandemic.

Representatives from three doctors’ and nurses’ professional organizations, along with the Canadian Medical Association, appeared before the House of Commons health committee and did not hold back in expressing their concerns.

…

“We urge you to protect health-care workers and make SARS lessons national lessons. If the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) won’t do it, nurses will.”

Full Article: here.

Nasal spray flu vaccine becoming available

The long-awaited first vaccinations against swine flu — the squirt-in-the-nose kind — begin early next week in parts of the country, and states are urging people to be patient until more arrives.

…

“We’re moving this out as quickly as we can,” said Oregon’s public health director, Dr. Mel Kohn, who hopes shipments arrive in time to begin some vaccinations on Monday. “This doesn’t do any good sitting in a warehouse.”

Most states are aiming their first small batches at health care workers, hoping to keep them well enough to be on the job as cases of swine flu — what doctors prefer to call the 2009 H1N1 strain — are rapidly increasing nationwide.

In Chicago, firefighters will share first doses with hospitals, to get some emergency responders protected, too.

Full article: here.

Ottawa should speed up approval of H1N1 vaccine, says Ont. minister

Ontario Health Minister David Caplan urged Ottawa on Thursday to speed up approval of the H1N1 vaccine amid concerns that a second wave of the swine flu may have already arrived in the province.

Ontario is equipped to deploy the vaccine quickly, but the province can’t get it until Health Canada issues a licence to the manufacturer, Caplan said.

…

Dr. Donald Low, head of the public health laboratories with the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, said a number of flu cases have come to emergency departments over the last few days.

The flu activity is concentrated primarily in Toronto, Hamilton and London, said Low, who is also chief microbiologist at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

He said there have been few cases of H1N1 in Ontario over the last few weeks, but on Monday, six new cases were confirmed.

“But unfortunately, that’s beyond the control of provincial governments.”

Full article: here.

Italy considers vaccinating players for swine flu

Italian soccer officials are considering large-scale vaccinations for players to protect against swine flu.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi told the ANSA news agency Friday that “the possibility of vaccinating all the players on every team is being considered.”

Full article: here.

School nurse shortage hampers swine flu response

As schools grapple with a resurgence of swine flu, many districts have few or no nurses to prevent or respond to outbreaks, leaving students more vulnerable to a virus that spreads easily in classrooms and takes a heavier toll on children and young adults.

…

When the swine flu emerged last spring, it was a school nurse in New York City — Mary Pappas at St. Francis Preparatory School — who helped identify and curtail the country’s first major outbreak after she noticed large numbers of students complaining of high fevers and sore throats.

Full article: here.