Nunavut reports 1st swine flu death

A young Nunavut female patientdied Wednesday from swine flu, marking the first death from the H1N1 influenza virus in the territory.

Nunavut chief medical officer Dr. Isaac Sobol confirmed the death on Thursday.

In a release, Sobol said thepatient was flownfrom a community in the territory's Kivalliq region on June 24, after she was deemed to be a high-risk patient.

She had been in critical condition for several weeks before she died Wednesday, Sobol said.

"We are deeply saddened by this news and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time," Sobol stated in the release.

"While it is not unexpected that Nunavut would experience some deaths as a result of the H1N1 outbreak, the impact of this is felt throughout the region and our territory."

Thepatient's identity, including her age,wasnot released Thursday. Officials also did not disclose herhome community orwhere she was flownto.

Last week, Nunavut health officials reported that a resident of both Nunavut and Alberta, who had died in an Alberta hospital, tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

405 flu cases to date

However, it was not clear what role the virus played in that death, since that patient had chronic, pre-existing health conditions.

Nunavut has a total 405 lab-confirmed cases of swine flu as of Wednesday. Forty people have been hospitalized, with most of them already released.

Most Nunavummiut who contractedswine fluhave since recovered.

Sobol warned that some people, including pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions, face a higher risk of suffering "severe complications" such as pneumonia or respiratory problems if they contract the swine flu.

He urged those individuals to call their local health centre right away if they have the flu.

The swine flu pandemic has been implicated in45 deaths across Canada as of Wednesday. There are 10,156 confirmed cases across the country, including 1,115 hospitalizations.