Baker Lake (Dec 11/06) - An outbreak of flu-like symptoms among youth in Baker Lake is mostly over, health officials in the Kivalliq say.

More than 150 flu-like cases were reported, although they petered out by Dec. 4, said Fred Montpetit, director of Health and Social Services in the Kivalliq region. Included in the cases were 10 incidents of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that causes lung infections in kids under five.

"It affects most ages and all areas of the world," Montpetit said of the virus. "It's ubiquitous. It's everywhere."

During the height of the outbreak, the health centre was averaging 12 to 14 new cases per day, Montpetit said. That slowed to just eight new cases over the entire weekend of Dec. 2 and 3, he added.

A handful of young people suffering from the virus were medevaced to Churchill and Winnipeg for treatment of symptoms, which included difficulty breathing.

Robyn Ullyot, the nurse in charge of Baker Lake's health centre, said "two or three" children had yet to return home from medical treatment outside the hamlet as of last week.

The Department of Health and Social Services sent in three additional nurses (Baker Lake usually has five) to deal with the flurry of flu-like cases. Despite that, Ullyot said morale among nurses was high and support from the community was strong.

"We always had people stopping by, leaving us goodies and thanking us for our hard work," she said.

Christine Aylward, manager of Baker Lake's day care, said the facility closed Nov. 27 when there were only a handful of kids there.

"We were down to like five or six kids per day," she said.

Ullyot said the same precautions for preventing the spread of influenza - such as handwashing and staying home when you're sick - can also help control the spread of RSV.

"The precautions don't change, but because we're in an isolated community things like this can build quickly," she said.