Reports suggest elderly Alberta woman who died had swine flu
Last Updated: Thursday, May 7, 2009 | 9:33 PM MT
CBC News
Reports emerged Thursday night that an elderly woman who had swine flu has died in northern Alberta.
It's not clear whether she had any other underlying conditions.
CBC News put the question to Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert at 2:30 p.m. MT Thursday, and he stated then that he had no information about the case.
There are 214 confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada, including 33 in Alberta, the Public Health Agency of Canada says. Cases have been detected in every region except Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northern territories, with most cases found in B.C., Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta.
Almost all Canadian cases have been mild.
Worldwide, there are now 2,371 confirmed cases of swine flu in 24 countries, according to the World Health Organization. Forty-four people have died of the infection — 42 in Mexico and two in the United States.
On Thursday, Saskatchewan announced its first two cases of swine flu.
Corrections and Clarifications
- Initial reports on May 7 indicated the woman who died was elderly. A day after this story was published, Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said the woman was, in fact, in her thirties. May 8, 2009 | 2:20 MT
