Toronto's Bridgepoint Hospital is coping with an H1N1 outbreak after 11 patients and five health-care workers in the hospital's Neuromuscular Support Unit contracted the virulent flu strain, the hospital said in a release issued Thursday.
Two of the 16 people experiencing the symptoms have been referred to acute-care hospitals for further care, and other patients and health-care workers in the ward are being treated with antivirals and the H1N1 vaccine.
"Bridgepoint Health is working with Toronto Public Health and our Infectious Disease Specialists to manage the outbreak and contain its spread," Bridgepoint President and CEO Marian Walsh said in the statement. "From the onset of the outbreak, we responded as though the virus was H1N1, which lab results now confirm. We were not going to take any chances."
The release emphasized the flu outbreaks are common in hospitals at this time of year, but cautioned visitors and staff not to come to hospital if they're experiencing flu-like symptoms.
On Wednesday, Barbara Yaffe, Toronto's associate medical officer of health, confirmed an outbreak of H1N1 at Mount Sinai hospital. There were three cases of influenza among patients and staff in the intensive-care unit.
The Globe on H1N1
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