B.C. watching vulnerable communities for swine flu

Special attention is being paid to First Nations members living in remote B.C communities as health experts prepare for an expected resurgence of the H1N1 virus this fall and winter.

In much of the province, fighting the flu can be as straightforward as washing your hands or isolating yourself in your bedroom if you get sick.

That's not an option for everyone, according to Dr. Evan Adams, an adviser on aboriginal health for the provincial government.

B.C. can learn from the experience in northern Manitoba last spring, Adams told CBC News.

"These are communities that didn't have running water. One of the biggest self-protection measures is to wash your hands," Adams said. "And in those communities, they have housing issues, whereby people couldn't self-isolate when they were sick."

It took five weeks to get items like hand-sanitizers to some remote settlements, Adams said.

With the Manitoba experience in mind, diagnostic kits and anti-viral medications are in place for quick distribution to nearly 20 remote aboriginal communities across B.C., said Adams.

"We are concerned about the first signs of symptoms of flu. Those first few cases are important to identify so that we can then protect vulnerable populations," said Adams.

He said word of infection will be passed along through a system that has been set up among chiefs and other leaders in many remote communities.