THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - While classrooms may be a breeding ground for germs, at least one doctor says a decision by two Quebec school boards to keep pregnant teachers at home this fall because of H1N1 flu may be premature.
Reports on Friday that the Quebec City school boards planned to take such drastic preventive measures came on the same day a Montreal woman died of H1N1 flu complications after she contracted the virus while pregnant.
Fatiha Idrissi Kaitouni gave birth to a baby boy by caesarean section in June but had been on life support in a Montreal hospital ever since.
Dominique Breton, a spokeswoman with Quebec's Health Department, said the 23-year-old developed cardiopulmonary difficulties and pneumonia as a result of the virus and died Friday.
Her husband, Mohamed Hassani Idrissi, told media his wife contracted the virus while pregnant, during which time she suffered serious breathing problems and lost a lot of blood.
Dr. Gaston De Serres, an epidemiologist with Quebec's public health institute, said such cases are rare. But while pregnant women are at no greater risk to contract the virus, they are at greater risk for complications.
"The number of deaths due to H1N1 in Canada is still fairly limited and to have pregnant women among them suggests that pregnancy is a risk factor for severe outcome," he said.
As for the decision by the two school boards, De Serres seemed a little torn.
"If a woman is pregnant and asks me, 'Should I go to an environment where there is lots of transmission,' I guess the answer is pretty self explicit," he said.
"Going to an environment where lots of viruses are circulating will be dangerous."
That said, De Serres cautioned against making decisions that are not "substantiated by the risks."
He said keeping pregnant teachers out of school may be something to consider in an outbreak situation but at the moment it's not clear whether the virus will pick up in the fall or in January when influenza season typically begins.
"If this question is asked during a period of real increase of influenza, I guess that the decision will be taken not only by school boards, but also by ministers of health and unions and all those people involved in health issues," he said.
They key for pregnant women, he added, is seeking medical attention early.
"The antiviral treatments that exist are much more effective if given in the first 48 hours of disease onset," he said.
Neither of the school boards - the Commission scolaire de la Capitale and the Commission scolaire des Premieres-Seigneuries - could be reached for comment.
Caroline Lemieux, a spokeswoman with the federation representing Quebec school boards, said the individual commissions made the decisions.
