SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A majority of communities in the NWT have confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus.

Dr. Kami Kandola, chief public health officer, said 22 of the territory's 33 communities account for the 200 lab-confirmed cases of swine flu. The information was released at a public health advisory meeting on Oct. 13.

Dr. Kami Kandola, chief public health officer, highlights the rising number of NWT communities affected by H1N1. - Charlotte Hilling/NNSL photo On average 4,000 people die each year in Canada of the flu or flu-related complications During a severe outbreak approximately 8,000 people die in Canada In a moderately severe pandemic it is estimated between 11,000 to 58,000 deaths may occur nationwide An estimated 10 to 25 per cent of Canadians catch the flu each year (between 3.3 and 8.3 million people) There have been 78 H1N1 deaths in Canada in 2009 1,524 people have been hospitalized due to H1N1 in Canada (19 in the NWT) H1N1 and other flu symptoms Fever cough sore throat runny or stuffy nose body aches headaches chills fatigue diarrhea or vomiting

To date, 37 per cent of the cases requiring hospitalization have been from Yellowknife. The majority of cases have come from the smaller regions.

"The smaller and remote communities are also the most vulnerable in terms of access to health care," said Kandola. "It's those communities that we're being very aggressive with early access to antivirals."

The first confirmed case of the virus occurred on May 24, 2009 with the numbers remaining relatively small until September.

With the cooler fall weather setting in and students going back to school, the Department of Health and Social Services recorded an increase of hospitalizations which now stand at 19.

"It's a lot colder, so there's more indoor activity," she said. "Last week alone we had nine hospitalizations and one ICU admission." Kandola added there might be more hospital cases pending H1N1 confirmation.

In what she described as the most robust flu tracking program the territory has ever conducted, Kandola said there have been more than 1,000 swabs taken from potential flu sufferers. Of those tests, approximately 65 per cent have tested positive for H1N1.

"The circulating flu virus that we do have is H1N1," she said. "We have had no reports of other influenza viruses."

In previous years flu tracking has not been nearly as intense. In 2008 the Public Health Agency of Canada reported 50 cases of seasonal influenza in the NWT. However, Kandola said in past years the territory did not conduct extensive influenza testing beyond confirming the predominate circulating strains of the virus.

"If we had 50 reported we could have had 300 to 400 cases," she said.

Last week the H1N1 flu line processed nearly 120 calls, of those, 77 people were referred to their health care centre or hospital.

Since its inception, approximately 400 calls have been made to the flu line.

The territory, like many jurisdictions in Canada, is still awaiting delivery of the H1N1 vaccine. Although the vaccine will not arrive until the territory is well into the flu season, Kandola said it is never too late.

She said with only 200 confirmed cases of the virus in the NWT there is still plenty of room for H1N1 to escalate.

"When you look at the hospitalizations of the population, it comes out to 0.04 per cent of the population - so it's still low," she said. "Even if you look at how many people we estimate to have flu now, it's still a small proportion of the population."

While an official statement from the federal government some time next week will put a definitive date on the availability of the vaccine, Kandola anticipates it will arrive around the end of this month.

In the meantime, she encouraged members of the public to keep washing their hands regularly, avoid touching their face, stay home from work if they're sick and get vaccinated when it becomes available.

She said for those who have had lab-confirmed H1N1 the vaccine will not be necessary, however there will be no harm from receiving the vaccine after suffering the virus.