Two swine flu cases at Erne
Editorial Department • Published 21 Jan 2011 09:00
0 Comments
FIGURES revealed by the Public Health Agency (PHA) last week indicate that the Western Trust had the most confirmed cases of swine flu, excluding those in critical care, as of Wednesday last.
According to the results, 14 people had been confirmed with the highly publicised H1N1 flu virus within hospitals covered by the Western Trust, whilst a further 20 more patients were awaiting test results.
The Belfast Trust had the second highest level of confirmed cases -- 12 -- with another 15 more patients awaiting confirmation from their test results.
The South Eastern Trust recorded the lowest confirmed cases with seven, whilst five more patients were awaiting the results of lab tests.
Two of the confirmed swine flu cases within the Western Trust were patients being treated in the Erne. The remaining 12 were receiving their treatment at Altnagelvin.
On further analysis, however, the Belfast Trust had the highest number of patients being managed in intensive care with Flu-Like Illness (FLI) -- 10 -- while the Western Trust had only three, the lowest number across the Trust areas.
The weekly swine flu bulletin, released every Thursday, revealed that as of Wednesday last, 17 people were confirmed to have died from the swine flu virus, 14 of whom had underlying health problems.
The Belfast Trust was the only area to have child patients being managed in intensive care with FLI.
During the PHA press briefing last week, John Compton, Chief Executive of the Health and Social Care Board, was keen to keep thing in perspective.
“The service continues to be busy with flu and seasonal winter pressures continuing to pose a challenge, however these pressures are being effectively managed across Northern Ireland and normal escalation arrangements are in place to cope with any expected demands at this time.
“The position, as of Wednesday, January 12, is that 30 out of 83 adult critical care patients and 4 out of 8 paediatric critical care patients are being treated for flu.
“Of all patients being treated in hospital in Northern Ireland today, approximately 3 per cent have been confirmed with swine flu or are suspected as having it. This is not unusual at this time of year when flu is most prevalent.”
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 20 Jan 11
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
