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Keeping a watch for swine flu n By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP 3 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Inside Living...................................................17 Automotive.........................................18 Artscene..............................................20 Sports..................................................24 Classified.............................................27 Full Delivery: Sport Chek, JYSK Bed and Bath, XS Cargo, Great Glasses, The Bay, Rona Cashway, City Parent, TK Nail Bar, Home Hardware, Strada Shoes, National Sports, RMP Athletics, Oakville Arts Council, FM Windows, Oakville Public Library Partial Delivery: Darien Lake, Sears, The Bay, Home Depot, Mark's Work Warehouse, Bouclair, Staples, Ontario Colleges, Peoples Jewellers, Active Magazine There have been neither confirmed nor suspected cases of swine flu in Halton Region, but the health department is conducting a vigilant surveillance of area hospitals, Halton's Medical Officer of Health Bob Nosal said Monday afternoon. The health department, which already has a response plan in place for any potential flu pandemic, is asking hospitals in the region to fax them daily information on patients with severe respiratory illnesses, said Nosal. The department also sent out a swine flu advisory to physicians in Halton last Thursday and planned to send another update yesterday, he added. The department is interested in hearing of any cases of patients presenting flu symptoms such as fever and a cough or shortness of breath along with a history of travel to Mexico in the past week. Nosal said the one-week travel history was due to the incubation period for the influenza virus. "Most commonly it's two to three days, sometimes it extends to a week," Nosal said. If someone travelled to Mexico during March break, for example, and has not had There have been neither confirmed nor suspected cases of swine flu in Halton Region, but the health department is conducting vigilant surveillance of area hospitals. n Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal any flu symptoms, they didn't pick up swine flu there. However, if the flu is confirmed to have spread to this area, the Region may need to drop the travel history portion of its monitoring, Nosal added. The Region's health department received approximately 30 calls on Monday, but they were mostly residents requesting general information on the virus. The department has set up a webpage for information on the new virus at http://www.halton.ca/health/se rvices/communicable_disease/swine-flu.htm. Swine flu is a new strain of the influenza virus that appears to be made up of parts of flu viruses that come from pigs, birds, and humans. Such new viruses can spread rapidly because humans haven't built up an immunity to the virus, the webpage states. However, the virus can be treated like other influenza virus- es with anti-viral medications prescribed by a doctor. The treatment is most effective on the first or second day of the illness. Despite the name, swine flu is spread through human contact, not eating pork products, and Nosal recommends typical measures to avoid spreading the flu ­ frequent hand washing, coughing into a sleeve, and sneezing into a tissue and disposing of the tissue immediately. Halton's health department is taking its lead from both Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and Canada's Public Health Agency in the information it provides to residents, said Nosal. However, those needing to travel to Mexico can contact the Region's travel health clinic at 905-825-6000. Monday, the Public Health Agency of Canada recommended Canadians avoid any nonessential travel to Mexico. The government has also put in place a pre-screening program for temporary farm workers coming from Mexico to Canada. "These guys have always been pre-screened," noted Ken Forth, president of FARMS, which helps Ontario farms secure seasonal agricultural workers, pointing out temporary workers require a medical before coming to Canada. Forth credited the government for not overreacting to the situation by imposing a ban on Mexican farm workers, 8,500 of whom come to Ontario each year. "You close the borders, that's a huge deal. It affects food and everything, not just temporary foreign workers," Forth said. About half the expected Mexicans are already in Ontario, said Forth. Bert Andrews, who runs Andrews Scenic Acres fruit and vegetable farm near Milton, said 11 of his seasonal agricultural workers came in from Mexico on Friday. He said none had any flu symptoms. He expressed concern that any change in government policy could delay the arrival of four more workers he's expecting from Mexico over the next week. "We couldn't operate without these guys for Correction In the Saturday, April 25 edition, a story on page 11, titled, Resident helps police catch graffiti suspect, inadvertently omitted its final line. The entire sentence read, David Bragdon has been charged with one count of mischief under $5,000. The Oakville Beaver regrets the error and any inconvenience it may have caused. For home delivery & customer service call (905) 845-9742 Mon., Tues. and Thurs. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Wed. 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Fri. 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat 10 a.m.-3 p.m. NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS call (905) 845-9742 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com See inside today's paper for special subscription offer. Summer Camps Work will wait on investigation n Continued from page 1 said Lunardo. "No further construction will occur until we know exactly what happened, what damage has occurred and how we can rectify the situation out there." How long it will take to conclude the investigation is another unknown as is whether this setback will get in the way of the arena's scheduled May 2010 completion date. The Town broke ground on the $63.1 million North Park Construction project in July of 2008. When finished the Quad Pad arena will feature a 1,500seat, Olympic-sized ice sur- face and three NHL-sized ice pads. A sports park, also expected to be in place within the area by the fall of 2010, will include four soccer fields, a cricket pitch, leash-free dog zone, BMX/skateboard facility, splash pad, playground and other park amenities. Damage to arena from the collapse has yet to be tallied. June 29 - Aug 14 9:00am-3:30pm For campers ages 3-12 · Registration on Now Spaces are limited! · Extended care available from 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Age appropriate groups, small teacher/student ratios taught by University Educated Instructors Please check on-line or call the studio for Summer dance classes Half Day Kinderschool Camp Ages 3-5 E.C.E. Instructors Art-based Program Music & Movement · Dance Full Day Dance Integration Camp Ages 9-12 Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet & Hip Hop Full Day Musical Theatre Camps Ages 8-12 Triple Threat Programs Acting · Dancing · Singing Arts Integration Camps Ages 5-12 Full & 1/2 day available Drama, Dance, Fine Arts, Musical Theatre, Games & much more! Website will keep tabs on torch n Continued from page 1 pass within one hour of more than 90 per cent of the entire Canadian population. Oakville residents interested in applying for the once-ina-lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame can apply at icoke.ca or rbc.com/carrythetorch. CocaCola and RBC, the relay's presenting partners, have the exclusive rights for the public to enter the Olympic Torchbearer program and are looking for Canadian applicants who commit to live healthier, or are inspired to create a stronger country by volunteering or making sustainable choices. Oakville residents can visit www.oakville.ca for more information. The Town will update its website with event details as the date draws near. Half Day Afternoon Rock Camp Ages 7-12 Percussions · Song Writing · CD Recording Offering The Finest in Arts Exploration and Development! 1011 Upper Middle Road & Eighth Line Oakville, Ontario L6H 4L5 Phone: 905.844.ARTS (2787) www.oakvilleacademy.com