The H1N1 flu and Garden Hill in northern Manitoba

Yesterday I was in Garden Hill in northern Manitoba with Anita Neville and Dr. Carolyn Bennett to talk about the situation with the H1N1 flu outbreak in the community. Just as Chief David Harper has described there was a shocking lack of preparedness when it came to dealing with the flu in the community.

The situation was so severe, Chief Harper had to order supplies on his own because Health Canada and the Province of Manitoba had been so slow to ensure basic support was there for the

community.

In addition to problems with a delay in receiving masks for community members, there was a problem in the provision of hand sanitizers. Alcohol based sanitizers were provided instead of non-alcohol based sanitizers and because of concerns about their use. The alcohol based sanitizers were under lock and key instead of distributed in the community.

Shockingly, the anti-viral drug tamiflu was not supplied to the community for the first four weeks of the epidemic. The flu was not treated seriously enough by the province or the federal government given the extent of severe respiratory disease in individuals from northern Manitoba.

It isn't just the lack of flu planning on the part of both the province and federal government that has led to the serious medical situation in GardenHill. Substandard housing conditions have certainly played a part in the crisis that this remote community has endured.

We saw many substandard homes during a tour of the area. These are Canadian homes that don't provide the basic necessities for healthy living such as running water or proper sewage removal.

Half of the 3,500 people in the community do not have running water. For many homes, they have outhouses which belong in a museum rather than in present day use.

Top photo, we meet with community leaders.

Bottom photo, a house in Garden Hill. It was heated by a small wood stove. The door inside had a blanket to cover the door space. There was no running water and only an outhouse for a toilet.