Officials with Alberta Health Services have confirmed about a number of staff and patients at a west Edmonton hospital have been diagnosed with the flu, and some of those confirmed to be H1N1.
AHS officials said the outbreak was first detected earlier in December at the Misericordia Hospital, and there were about three lab-confirmed cases – two of those have been confirmed as H1N1, with a handful of other suspected cases of the flu.
Health officials said at the Misericordia Hospital, about 20 percent of staff had been immunized against the flu – that number was later revised to 42 percent.
Edmonton’s Medical Officer of Health with AHS, Dr. Chris Sikora, said he’s not sure why more healthcare providers aren’t getting the shot.
“I wish I knew,” Dr. Sikora said Friday. “There’s good evidence that immunization protects both yourself, and also protects your family, and ultimately protects your patients, and I wish the immunization rate were higher, I wish people would be more proactive.”
The concept of making immunizations mandatory for health professionals has been the topic of discussion for the province, but Health Minister Fred Horne said it’s a last resort.
“I mean, the best compliance that we get is when people willingly make the decision to get the flu shot,” Horne said. “I can tell you so far this year, immunization among health care workers is up about 5 percent over where it was last year.”
So far this flu season, officials said 65 cases of influenza had been confirmed in Edmonton as of December 14 – Dr. Sikora said he expects those numbers to continue to rise.
Flu clinics in Edmonton will close at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and will open again January 6 – however, the vaccine is still available from pharmacies and physicians over the holidays.
AHS said this year’s flu vaccine also covers H1N1.
More information on the AHS flu immunization program can be found online.
With files from Sarah Richter
