Up to 6,000 pandemic deaths expected in British Columbia
Dirk Meissner
The Canadian Press
Hamilton Spectator
_____________
Victoria (British Columbia):
Pandemic flu experts in British Columbia estimate up to 6,000 people could die over a two-year period, but say they aren't planning for doomsday.
"We're actually not looking at the worst-case scenario," Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said yesterday.
Instead, planners are focusing efforts on prevention, treatment and ensuring life in British Columbia stays as normal as it can under trying circumstances, he said. The Health Ministry and B.C. Centre for Disease Control are working to provide basic tips about an influenza pandemic, including how to stay healthy.
Health Minister George Abbott unveiled a comprehensive website to help families, communities and organizations prepare for a potential pandemic. He said in Victoria that such pandemics occur every 10 to 40 years. The last one was in 1968.
The website provides information and resources to help British Columbians plan, prepare and stay informed. B.C. has been preparing for a pandemic since 1999 and the government has already spent tens of millions of dollars, he said.
The government's pandemic influenza website can be found at health.gov.bc.ca/pandemic.
May 12, 2006
Dirk Meissner
The Canadian Press
Hamilton Spectator
_____________
Victoria (British Columbia):
Pandemic flu experts in British Columbia estimate up to 6,000 people could die over a two-year period, but say they aren't planning for doomsday.
"We're actually not looking at the worst-case scenario," Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said yesterday.
Instead, planners are focusing efforts on prevention, treatment and ensuring life in British Columbia stays as normal as it can under trying circumstances, he said. The Health Ministry and B.C. Centre for Disease Control are working to provide basic tips about an influenza pandemic, including how to stay healthy.
Health Minister George Abbott unveiled a comprehensive website to help families, communities and organizations prepare for a potential pandemic. He said in Victoria that such pandemics occur every 10 to 40 years. The last one was in 1968.
The website provides information and resources to help British Columbians plan, prepare and stay informed. B.C. has been preparing for a pandemic since 1999 and the government has already spent tens of millions of dollars, he said.
The government's pandemic influenza website can be found at health.gov.bc.ca/pandemic.
May 12, 2006
