H1N1 flu virus found at Bethune K+S potash camp
There is at least one confirmed hospitalized case of H1N1 in a worker at the K+S Potash mine in Bethune and a second worker is in the hospital waiting for test results.
“In the last 24 hours we have confirmed a hospitalized flu case of H1N1 and there are other cases in the hospital awaiting laboratory confirmation,” Dr. Maurice Hennink, deputy medical health officer for the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR), explained on Wednesday.
He says there has been an increase in positive tests for influenza across southern Saskatchewan, and H1N1 appears to be the dominant influenza strain this year.
The H1N1 strain of flu has been present in the province every year since the outbreak in 2009, but the H3N2 strain was more dominant in the past two years. Hennink said the H1N1 virus is covered by this year’s flu vaccine.