Sask. braces for 200,000 swine flu cases

Saskatchewan health officials are bracing for the next wave of swine flu to hit the province, with about 200,000 cases expected.

Although that's 20 per cent of the population, health officials say it's no cause for alarm because the vast majority of  H1N1 flu cases will be mild.

A pandemic plan is being rolled out and vaccinations for swine flu — enough to medicate everyone in the province — should be ready to go next month, said Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province's deputy chief medical officer.

Priority for getting the vaccine will go to health-care workers and people with underlying health conditions, he said. After that, it will be made widely available.

"The pandemic vaccine is for everyone and everyone should get it in a fairly short time frame of a few weeks," he said. "But when the vaccine arrives obviously not everyone can get it on the same day, so what we are recommending is people who are at high risk."

While the province is anticipating as many as 200,000 people will be infected with the H1N1 virus this fall and winter, officials expect less one per cent of those cases will result in a trip to hospital.

Shahab said the estimates of hospital cases is based on national statistics from the original outbreak of swine flu in the spring and summer.

"Canada-wide there were 1,500 hospitalizations to date and Canada-wide, 250 to 300 people needed ICU care," he said.

Earlier in the week, officials with the Saskatoon health region said they were expecting about 30,000 swine flu cases among the 300,000 people living in the region, which includes the city and surrounding communities.  

To date, the province has suffered four deaths related to swine flu. On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Health Ministry said it's investigating whether swine flu played a role in the recent death of a teenage boy. The youth already had a serious health condition. The province said it won't release more details about the case until a full investigation has been completed.