Fort Frances may be off the beaten track but that hasn’t stopped the “Influenza A” bug from making a big impact on the health of residents here.
Dr. Robert Algie, chief of staff at Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., said some 450 more patients with ’flu-like symptoms had been treated in the hospital’s emergency ward since the beginning of December than during the same period last year.
“It was just wild,” agreed Liz Clarke, assistant executive director of patient services at La Verendrye hospital, when describing the overall scene of the emergency ward over the Christmas holidays.
“In general, we were extremely busy [and] we had some really sick patients and a lot of sick staff–some who worked while they were ill because they knew there was no one to replace them,” Clarke said.
“It was probably one of the busiest [times] I can remember,” she added.
“High fever, chest infection, sinus infection, vomiting, headaches–it was bad and it still is,” echoed Donna Daub, nurse supervisor in the emergency ward, noting “flu-stricken” patients (mostly adults) accounted for roughly 85 percent of the emergency ward cases.
“It has slowed down but [the ’flu] is still here,” she noted.
Residents at Rainycrest Home for the Aged here also haven’t been spared the ’flu bug.
“There have been cases of the ’flu identified and one wing has been closed as a control measure to minimize the impact of the [virus],” Ken Allan, team leader at the Northwestern Health Unit here, confirmed yesterday after a meeting with Rainycrest administration, adding the situation was being monitored daily.
“This really underlines the importance of sick people not visiting residents [until they are better],” he stressed.
David Schwartz of Gagne Pharmacy and Kim Metke of Pharmasave also are seeing the impact of the ’flu bug at their counters, where customers head in search of relief.
“You always see an increase in colds and ’flu [in the winter] but they seem to be worse than normal this [time],” Schwartz said. “I’ve had everybody from a nine-week-old baby to a grandmother in her ’90s.”
While Allan agreed the ’flu should be of concern, the fact it was knocking people flat for a week wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“We are experiencing a lot of ’flu this year and that’s hardly a surprise given the time of year. But anecdotely-speaking, there are a lot more people sick,” he remarked.
“In Canada, we expect to have many more ’flu cases, especially late November through March, [and] what’s out there now is consistent with that,” he said.
“But let me be clear, the ’flu is a serious illness especially for people with heart and lung conditions,” he warned.
< *c>Weathering the bug
Unless people with the ’flu have symptoms that persist or worsen after four or five days, plenty of rest, fluids, aspirin or Tylenol are probably the only remedies to count on until the “bug” moves on, Dr. Algie suggested.
“Most adults should be able to weather this [’flu] at home unless there are really precarious [health concerns] like lung disease or diabetes,” he said, noting other complications like sinus or lung infections also warranted medical attention.
And Dr. Algie said people who work in the health field, school environments, crowded work areas, or those who travel a lot in confined spaces should consider getting a ’flu vaccine to help protect them.
“The vaccine doesn’t give you 100 percent protection from getting ill but it can lessen the severity and duration of [the ’flu],” he noted.