2009 flu pandemic in Canada | |
---|---|
Disease | Swine flu |
Virus strain | H1N1 |
First outbreak | Thought to be Veracruz, Mexico |
Arrival date | 20 April 2009 |
Suspected cases‡ | 1.5 million (by 20 November 2016) |
Deaths | 428[1] |
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. |
The 2009 swine flu pandemic in Canada was part of an epidemic in 2009 of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 causing what has been commonly called swine flu. In Canada, roughly 10% of the populace (or 3.5 million) has been infected with the virus,[2][3] with 428 confirmed deaths (as of 20 February 2017);[1] non-fatal individual cases are for the most part no longer being recorded. About 40% of Canadians have been immunized against H1N1 since a national vaccination campaign began in October 2009,[4] with Canada among the countries in the world leading in the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated.[2][5] The widespread effect of H1N1 in Canada raised concerns during the months leading to the XXI Olympic Winter Games, which took place in Vancouver in February 2010.[6]