Flu readiness varies across Canada, experts say

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The capacity of Canada's health system to treat the H1N1 flu pandemic varies widely by region and may require quick adjustments if a second wave sweeps the country this autumn, top health officials said on Thursday.

Officials have stressed the fact that Canada was the first to draft a national pandemic plan, but the country's defenses will ultimately come down to local preparation, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.

"Different parts of the country are at different stages," he told reporters near the end of a two-day conference to plan for the pandemic's return. "Now's the opportunity to catch up if you're a hospital that hasn't been thinking about this, an ICU (intensive care unit) that hasn't been focused on this."

Provinces hit hard during the first wave in spring, such as Manitoba, may be best-prepared, said Dr. Anand Kumar, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Manitoba.

He said he's concerned about care in Canada's northern territories, where sparse populations are dominated by aboriginal people that the flu might hit hard.

Canada may need to airlift medical personnel and equipment to the north, or fly patients south, he said.

The conference will ultimately result in recommendations on such issues as how to provide treatment and how long to isolate patients, but officials said they won't be released publicly for weeks.

Up to four times more patients than normal could test the health system this fall, Butler-Jones said.

Canada, a country of 33.6 million people, plans to buy 50.4 million doses of pandemic vaccine and begin immunizations in November.

Vulnerable people, such as pregnant women and people living in remote areas, will be priorities for vaccination, Butler-Jones said, but he ruled out issuing vaccines to those groups as a preemptive measure.

The pandemic has killed 72 people in Canada.