By Kevin Martel

16 people now dead after catching flu in Sask.

Jan 24, 2014 | 1:57 PM

The provincial government has confirmed that there are now 16 people who have died in Saskatchewan after contracting influenza.

The latest update from the Health Ministry says three-quarters of the fatal cases involved people with underlying health conditions. None had gotten the flu shot this season.

The province’s Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Denise Werker also said Friday that men are twice as likely as women to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and die. However, she can’t say exactly why that is.

“It may be related to men not being as likely to get vaccinated, it may be related to their underlying medical conditions and it may be some genetic predisposition,” she said.

The age of the four people who have died in the last week ranged from under one to 86.

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Health officials say the number of deaths is now one higher than the pandemic year of 2009 when H1N1 first appeared in North America. Werker clarified the death toll could continue to climb.

“My concern is we have just peaked and that we may get more deaths on the other side of the slope. Just because we have peaked doesn’t mean that it suddenly goes away. What we get on the way up, we get on the way down,” she explained.

While the province as a whole has peaked, she explained regions in the far north are just beginning to see flu activity. “Extraordinary” efforts are being made to get vaccine to some of those remote areas.

Werker is pleading for everyone to get vaccinated if they haven’t already. There are over 107,000 doses of FluMist that are open to all ages. For those unable to get the nasal shot, there are roughly 10,000 injectable doses of vaccine as well.

“What we are pleading for everyone is to get vaccinated. If you have missed your shot now’s the time to get your FluMist,” Werker said. “We have an opportunity in the next two weeks to vaccinate as many people as possible in order to protect them for the rest of the season.”

For more flu information visit the Ministry of Health's website.

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