Northwood seniors home hit with flu

Northwood, the largest housing complex for seniors in Atlantic Canada, has been hit with an outbreak of the flu.

Heather Smith, infection control officer at Northwood, says there have been three confirmed cases of Influenza A this month among the 33 people living on the third floor, but many others have shown flu-like symptoms.

Influenza is a viral infection that causes fever, coughing and aching muscles. It can be deadly for seniors and people with chronic illnesses.

Three people at Northwood have died during the outbreak. Smith says they had symptoms, but they weren't tested for the flu. All three had other serious illnesses.

Smith says Northwood immediately implemented a number of protocols, such as restricting residents to the third floor and implementing more house cleaning.

There are 485 people living at Northwood. They've all been given Tamiflu since the outbreak.

Some residents on the fifth floor have shown flu-like symptoms too. Smith says one Northwood resident has been admitted to hospital with flu-like symptoms.

26 confirmed cases in province

Provincial health officials say there have been 26 confirmed cases of the flu in Nova Scotia this season. These cases are spread across the province.

Officials have ordered 470,000 doses of the flu vaccine. That's about 30,000 more than last year.

Elaine Holmes, director of communicable disease prevention and control for the Department of Health and Wellness, says 42 per cent of Nova Scotians were immunized during the last flu season.

Holmes says this year's flu season started earlier than usual.