One day after Ottawa announced its first confirmed case of Influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu, the city’s medical officer of health has announced a second case.
Like the first individual, the second patient, also a male living in the city, had recently returned from Mexico and suffered “mild” symptoms, said Dr. Isra Levy at a news conference yesterday.
“We’ve confirmed the report of a second person in our community that tested positive for the H1N1 virus,” said Levy.
Levy said there is no link between the two cases.
Because it takes some time for the labs to confirm the virus, “we may see more cases and we may not,” he said.
Currently, said Levy, public health is waiting on 10 samples in city labs.
As of yesterday, there were 165 confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada, excluding Ottawa’s latest case, which was announced late yesterday afternoon.
As with the first case, Levy said he is not releasing information about the individual other than he had been to Mexico, and that “he sought medical attention within days of becoming symptomatic” once he had returned to Canada.
“The only way we would release information is if it had an impact on those in the community,” he said.
It’s very difficult to tell others how to interpret the infection, said Levy. “As health professionals, we are trying to find the balance.”
