New Brunswick has had two deaths connected to the swine flu virus, health officials announced Friday.
The two victims are both men — one in his early 60s, the other in his 70s, said Dr. Eilish Cleary, the provincial chief medical officer of health.
Testing confirmed the men had the swine flu virus, and both had an underlying condition that increased their risk of complications, she said.
"Our great sympathies go out to the individuals' families for their loss," Health Minister Mary Schryer stated in a news release.
"These deaths associated with H1N1 virus highlight just how important it is for all of us to be vigilant and protect ourselves and others."
The Department of Health had always anticipated more severe cases involving hospitalization and even death as the regular flu season continued, said Cleary.
She urged New Brunswickers to protect themselves and those around them by washing hands frequently, coughing or sneezing into their sleeve, keeping common surfaces clean, staying at home if sick, and getting the vaccine in priority order.
Share Tools
Latest New Brunswick News Headlines
- Budworm outbreak poses $1B threat to N.B. forests
- Forest scientists are warning a bug that first troubled New Brunswick forests 40 years ago is on the brink of another outbreak. more »
- New potato targets diabetics, dieters
- Potato breeders in New Brunswick are creating a tuber to help diabetics and dieters. more »
- Pension trustee takes stand in defamation suit
- A high-profile lawsuit against a former Saint John city councillor over allegedly defamatory comments he made about the city's pension board continued Wednesday with a former long-time city financial officer and board member on the stand. more »
- Half of Canadians report being bullied as youth
- Half of Canadian adults polled say they were bullied as children or teenagers — and 62 per cent of those bullied say having an adult mentor would have helped them cope. more »
Top News Headlines
- Tories move to curb 'bogus' refugees
- The Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, CBC News has learned. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Two NDP MPs broke party ranks to vote with the government in the final House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Police tight-lipped on suspicious hospital death
- Fredericton Police warn of bank scam
- Special needs cats hold Valentine's Day Skype date
- Police ID body found on Kingston Peninsula
- Saint John mulls cutting pension guarantees
- Parking shortage at Moncton Hospital
- CUPE questions Horizon's use of parking funds
- SWN may get frosty reception, says mayor
