Aboriginal communities have been harder hit by swine flu than others, and that may be because of the high percentage of young people, according to Audrey Lawrence, the director of the Aboriginal Nurses Association.

Lawrence said more than half the aboriginal population in Canada is under the age of 25.

"And this is what's so different about this H1N1 flu is that it's disproportionately targeting or seems to be affecting younger people, much more so than traditional flus where the severity of impact is more on the very, very young and the very old," she said.

Her organization wants to make sure aboriginal people are a top priority to receive the regular flu vaccine in September, and the specialized H1N1 vaccine when it's available later this fall.

So far, only one case of H1N1 has been confirmed in Yukon but there have been more than 10,000 cases confirmed across Canada, including 390 from Nunavut.

Recent statistics from Manitoba peg the infection level among First Nations at 135 per 100,000 people versus 6.1 cases per 100,000 for the province, the Assembly of First Nations said Friday.

Cape Breton communities wary of outbreak

In Nova Scotia, health officials in Cape Breton's five First Nations communities are meeting to bring their pandemic plans up to date.

Though there have been no reported cases of the virus among Mi'kmaq people on the island, officials say conditions appear ripe for an outbreak.

Sharon Rudderham, director of the Eskasoni Health Centre, said aboriginal communities may be especially vulnerable because of overcrowded living conditions and disease.

"Within our First Nations communities we have a high number of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and stuff like that that can compromise the health of individuals, so I think that can be the case as well for Cape Breton," she said.

Rudderham said an education program about swine flu will be presented in Cape Breton schools this fall to teach children the importance of hand-washing.

"We do have a high percentage of young people in our community and so it's important that kids have an understanding as well of what they can do to keep healthy and to stay safe," she said.

Nurse shortage

Lawrence is also concerned about swine flu's effects on the health-care system during a nursing shortage.

"Their workload is quite heavy as it stands, without the H1N1, and in some communities we're hearing, for example, one nurse might be having to cover 15 H1N1 cases in addition to the person's normal workload as well," she said.

So the Aboriginal Nurses Association is calling on retired nurses to contact them, if they can return to work and lend a hand during the fall flu season.