Originally published September 29 2005
Flu pandemic could kill 50,000 Canadians, health official warns
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Canada's chief public health officer has warned that a flu pandemic could kill 50,000 Canadians and infect 30 to 40 percent of the country's population.
David Butler-Jones warned Tuesday that a pandemic is probably inevitable, but cautioned that the threat shouldn't be blown out of proportion because it might not happen for decades.
"The question of how severe it is, when it comes -- that we don't know," Butler-Jones told The Canadian Press in an interview at the Canadian Public Health Association's annual meeting.
"In a pandemic, we would see potentially 50,000 deaths in Canada.
We see approximately that number of deaths in every year related to tobacco."
He said that a flu pandemic might infect 30 to 40 per cent of the population during flu season, compared with the usual level of about five per cent.
Having so many people sick at the same time, he said, would have major economic and social impacts.
Public Health Minister Carolyn Bennett, who was also attending the conference, said Canada has adequate stocks of flu vaccine if such an emergency were to occur.
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