B.C. confirms 3rd case of swine flu; victim claims neglect by doctors

A third case of swine flu has been diagnosed in B.C., and the latest patient says emergency room doctors at a Victoria hospital didn't take her seriously when she told them she had fallen sick during her trip to Mexico.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirmed Tuesday Michelle Bossi, 30, of Victoria, was the third person in the province confirmed to have the new strain of swine influenza virus thought to be responsible for dozens of deaths in Mexico. Milder cases of the same strain of flu have been reported in other parts of Canada as well as in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand and Israel.

Bossi told CBC News Tuesday she fell ill before returning from a resort in Cancun, Mexico, last Saturday with a friend.

"We were lying by the pool or by the beach, and we're feeling rough, feeling super lethargic and couldn't figure out what our problem was. We figured we were just out in the sun too much," Bossi said.

"We decided just to take an easy night and watch a movie in bed, and we ended up falling asleep at, like, dinner time and waking up the next morning with the worst cough ever, absolutely horrible. By, like, three hours after that, four hours after that, we had the worst flu symptoms, like it hit us so quick and hard."

'People have to remember that there are all sorts of very serious germs and viruses that people bring into hospital, and staff need to take a standard approach to dealing with these.' — Dr. Richard Stanwick, Vancouver Island Health Authority

Bossi flew back to B.C. wearing a mask and went straight to the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, where she said doctors were stumped.

"They didn't really do anything," Bossi said. "For the first hour, I just sat in the waiting room, but I had my own mask on —- the mask I had from Mexico," she said.

"Finally, they sort of took us serious, put me in an isolation room but left me there for a good three, four hours.

"Then they came in and I was, like, 'I'm burning up. I have the worst fever.' One doctor said to me, 'You don't have a fever. You're sunburned.' And I said I was not sunburned."

Bossi said the doctors sent her home with antibiotics, without telling her to wear a mask, and it wasn't until two days after that she was informed she had swine flu.

"I probably infected my mom, my brother, my dad, my boyfriend, and they could possibly have infected their co-workers or anybody they've been around."

Bossi said her case proves the need for more awareness of the disease at local hospitals.

Hospital follows protocol

Dr. Simon Hoogewerf, head of Royal Jubilee hospital's emergency department, rejected suggestions it didn't properly treat Bossi when she first came to the emergency room

The Vancouver Island Health Authority said no one will be admitted to hospital simply because they have influenza — even swine flu.

Hospitalization is only necessary when the patient is having trouble breathing, said Dr. Richard Stanwick, the health authority's chief medical health officer.

When dealing with Bossi, he said, hospital staff followed a protocol that was set up in the wake of the SARS outbreak six years ago.

"People have to remember that there are all sorts of very serious germs and viruses that people bring into hospital, and staff need to take a standard approach to dealing with these," Stanwick said.

"So, whether it's swine flu or, perhaps, a mengococcal infection, the same steps need to be taken."

Bossi said she has since recovered, but it is not yet clear whether her travelling companion also contracted swine flu.

The latest case is B.C.'s third case of swine flu. The two other cases in B.C. involved young men who had been travelling to Mexico recently. Officials have said they are recovering. Six other new cases in Alberta and Ontario were also confirmed on Tuesday, bringing the national total to at least 13.

Ryan Windsor, 26, of Richmond, has been identified as the second victim in B.C. He told CBC News Tuesday that doctors told him to stay isolated in his apartment for eight days.

"It's probably, definitely, the sickest I've ever been," said Windsor, who passed the isolation period.

"I'm OK. I'm no longer contagious, so I just want people to not be afraid to be around me, because I've been cleared, and I'm past that point," he said.

B.C. not prepared for possible pandemic

Meanwhile, some health-care providers in B.C. are raising concerns about how prepared provincial health authorities are to deal with a possible pandemic of swine flu, following the World Health Organization's decision to raise its global pandemic alert level.

Margaret Dhillon, the executive councillor of health and safety with the B.C. Nurses' Union, said hand-washing and surgical masks for people with coughs and fevers have been standard procedure since the SARS outbreak in 2003, but they may not be enough if a swine flu pandemic breaks out.

"From what I understand, we're not completely prepared. I don't know if we have the best stockpiles of antiviral medications and the staff that can deal with the pandemic," Dhillon said on Monday.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said the province has hundreds of thousands of doses of antiviral medication available, and is looking to boost its supply.

Dhillon said nurses are being told to wear masks, gloves, and gowns as they watch for signs of respiratory illnesses in the public.

The WHO raised its global pandemic alert to Level 4 from Level 3 on Monday, meaning the global health body feels the likelihood of a pandemic has increased, but not that a pandemic is inevitable.

Thus far, more than 150 deaths have been linked to swine flu in Mexico, while the disease has been detected in Canada, the U.S., and Spain. Several other countries have reported suspected cases.

Some travellers ignore official advisory

The federal government has issued an advisory warning people to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. The Public Health Agency of Canada issued the warning late Monday.

Sean Rollinson with Escapes.ca said the official advisory will make it easier for travellers to cancel or rebook their flights.

"A lot of travellers can turn to their travel insurance if they purchased it, or in this case a lot of times the tour operators and airlines will offer different rules. They'll change their terms and conditions, maybe let you change your flight," said Rollinson.

Air Canada had already announced it will not charge fees to re-book travel for anyone booked to travel to Mexico between now and May 6, while WestJet has waived change fees until May 8.

But at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday morning travellers getting on a flights to Cancun, Mexico, told CBC News that neither the travel advisory nor the actual threat of swine flu was going to get in the way of their tropical vacation.

Traveller Kelly Thompson said, "We are not concerned. We'll take precautions. The only concerns we have are about being quarantined on the way home."

Signs at the airport warn returning travellers that if they do become sick to put on a mask and go see a doctor.