MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
November 28, 2012
Influenza A at Victoria Hospital
LONDON, Ontario – An Alert Level Two/Outbreak has been called for Influenza A on D5-300, ACE (Acute Care of the Elderly) Unit at Victoria Hospital.
An Alert Level Two/Outbreak is when there are two or more cases of hospital acquired influenza on a specific unit, where the patients have been in hospital care for more than 72 hours. As of Tuesday evening, there were two positive patients on the unit and three with respiratory symptoms.
Patients with Influenza A have been placed in private rooms or are in a room with another patient who is positive. Alert Level Two/Outbreak signs have been placed on the unit, and information has been provided for families and visitors. Environmental service workers are cleaning the rooms on the units twice daily. No new patients are currently being admitted to the unit.
“We are continuing with measures to prevent further transmission of Influenza A amongst our patients,” says Dr. Michael John, Medical Director, Infection Prevention & Control. “Our primary concern is always the health and well-being of our patients, and we ask that family or visitors do not come to the hospital if they themselves are feeling unwell.”
In collaboration with the Middlesex-London Health Unit these cases have been reported as an outbreak, utilizing the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s criteria for public reporting.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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