Swine flu is hitting First Nations in Manitoba harder, province’s top doc says

By Helen Branswell, Google

TORONTO — Manitoba’s top doctor says it does appear that swine flu is hitting First Nations people in the province harder than non-aboriginal Manitobans.

Dr. Joel Kettner said numbers of cases are still small and analyses have to be treated with caution, but the impression created by the number of medical evacuations from remote northern communities seems to reflect a real situation.

“It appears from our information that . . . (among) our most severe cases, there’s an over-representation from a population and demographic perspective, of First Nations and aboriginal people,” Kettner, the chief medical officer of health, said Monday in an interview from Winnipeg.

He said his staff have been analyzing hospital admissions and other types of data to see who is getting sick and who among them is getting most severely ill.

Epidemiological information like that is critical for public health officials trying to tailor advice on reducing risk of exposure. As well, authorities will need to know who is at highest risk so that they can revise priority lists for pandemic vaccine when it becomes available.

Kettner said two-thirds of 24 Manitobans in intensive care units fighting swine flu last week were First Nations people. Given that aboriginal peoples make up only 10 to 15 per cent of the population of the province, that seems an unduly large proportion, he said.

The average age of those in this ICU cohort was 35 years old – an unusually young age for people to need ICU care for flu.

“We’re seeing very few people in intensive care older than 55,” said Kettner. “And we’re seeing very few infants, or under two (years of age).”

Chief David McDougall’s northern Manitoba community of St. Theresa Point has had 27 people transported south for treatment of swine flu. Some of the people who have become severely ill aren’t among those one would typically expect to see hospitalized for flu, he said.

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