Children’s Hospital Unit Quarantined Because of Swine Flu Outbreak

Breaking news from CBC:

Officials have isolated a unit on the third floor of the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary because of three swine flu cases.

The hospital has stopped admitting new patients to the unit, which usually treats children with kidney problems, because one staff member and two children are confirmed to have swine flu, said Don Stewart, a spokesman with Alberta Health Services, on Tuesday.

Patients already there have been isolated, and only their parents or close family are being allowed to visit them.

The unit has been contained, and infection prevention control measures are underway, added Stewart.

Alberta has registered more than 1,000 cases of swine flu since the influenza outbreak began in Mexico in March.

On Monday, health officials confirmed the death of an Edmonton-area woman with chronic pre-existing medical conditions as the second fatality in the province associated with swine flu.

Every year, 4,000 Canadians die from the flu and a high percentage of them have underlying conditions that play a large part in making them susceptible to complications associated with the flu, he said.