H1N1 claims man in his 40s

A 46-year-old man with no underlying medical conditionsisNova Scotia's sixth death related to theswine fluvirus.

The death of Stephen Nolan was confirmed Thursday by the Department of Health Promotion and Protection. He died Wednesday in Halifax after spending a "number of days" in the intensive care unit, said Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief public health officer.

The Nolan family released a statement thanking the health-care team at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre who "worked tirelessly, with great compassion" in their efforts to save Nolan's life.

"Stephen was a healthy man, an outdoorsman, whose symptoms emerged and progressed so quickly that life-saving measures, although attempted, were unsuccessful," the statement said.

"He was a loving son, brother, husband and father, a loyal friend, a marine biologist, an adventurer an expert yachtsman, skier, scuba diver a world traveller, an amateur historian, a gourmet cook, an accomplished craftsman.

"Words cannot convey the depth of love and compassion, humour and intelligence, and determination that Stephen brought to daily life."

The statement said Nolan's family wanted to emphasize that people with no risk factors should still get immunized against H1N1.

"The emergence of symptoms may be too little too late," it said.

Strang saidNolan's deathwasa tragic reminder of the seriousness of the H1N1 influenza virus. He urged all Nova Scotians to get vaccinated.

"Everyone is at some risk of getting H1N1, and we are seeing otherwise healthy people come down with severe and debilitating illness,"Strang said in a statement.

Four otherpeople have died during thisautumn'ssecond wave of the H1N1 pandemic. Nova Scotia's first death was in July.

Health officials said all five hadunderlying health conditions.

Nova Scotia launched its inoculationprogram on Oct. 27. The vaccine was restricted to priority groups followinga Canada-wide shortage, and only made available tothe general publiclast Friday.