H1N1 Cases In Canada Dwindling

November 30, 2009 7:53 p.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Influenza A (H1N1) cases in Canada are on a downtrend, data from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows. It includes hospitalized cases, admissions to intensive care units and death.

The numbers indicate the second wave of the swine flu pandemic in Canada may be tapering off, health experts said.

However, federal officials warned that while H1N1 cases may be leveling off in some parts of Canada, the second wave's peak may have not been reached yet. Chief Public Health Office Dr. David Butler-Jones explained a plateau in some communities should not be equated with the pandemic having ended.

As of Nov. 21, there were 61 new swine flu deaths reported in Canada, which is down from 84 H1N1 mortality the previous week.

To understand better the H1N1 virus, the University of Toronto's Health Network is studying Canadians who died of the ailment. Initial findings indicate the triggering mechanism for the death is an immune system reaction among young people. Scientists call that reaction a cytokine storm.

More than 300 Canadians have died from the swine flu virus since spring and about one-third of the victims do not have any underlying health conditions. Among the conditions observed by ICU specialists and microbiologists common among H1N1 fatalities are the cytokine storm, viral pneumonia and a deadly secondary bacterial infection.