June 29, 2009 - The Health Unit is confirming one new case of H1N1 flu from the District of Thunder Bay. The case is a child who resides in the City. This case brings the total to four in the District.

With H1N1 now circulating in our District, the Health Unit reminds the public that the spread of the illness can be prevented by:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content.
• Sneezing and coughing into your upper sleeve.
• Staying home and away from work, school and other public places when you are sick

The Health Unit will continue its investigation of H1N1 cases and will move to reporting case updates on a weekly basis. Health Unit updates will be posted on tbdhu.com every Friday by 1:00 p.m.

Weekly reporting of District cases is aligned with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s announcement on June 26, 2009, of a new surveillance approach to monitor H1N1 flu virus activity in the province. The ministry will now be reporting confirmed cases on a weekly basis. It has also shifted from testing all suspect cases of H1N1 to testing patients requiring hospitalization and patients at high risk for complications from the flu . This will allow resources to be devoted to enhanced surveillance of hospitalized cases, cases with underlying conditions and deaths and to identify vulnerable populations.

On of Friday, June 26, 2009, the Ministry of Health reported a total of 3154 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Ontario. Almost all of the cases reported to date have experienced similar symptoms to those of seasonal influenza. The majority of these cases have recovered.

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