While the flu continues to circulate across the country, it has “declined dramatically,” according to a new report from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
After previously seeing a peak in cases, most flu surveillance indicators are declining, detailed the flu surveillance report released Jan. 6 by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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Almost all indicators are at expected levels for this time of year, the report said.
The weekly number of influenza-related hospitalizations among Canada’s pediatric population has also declined sharply and is now within levels typical for this time of year.
Children’s hospitals across the country have been under pressure after an early and severe flu season hit the country and hospitalized many more children than usual.
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The last week of November marked the highest number of pediatric hospitalizations in a single week in a decade, according to Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a researcher for IMPACT, a program that monitors hospitalizations for vaccine-preventable diseases at 12 children’s hospitals across the country.
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A typical flu season involves about 1,000 children admitted to the hospital. Because of pandemic public health measures, he said he saw only 400 last season, and there hadn’t been a single season before that.
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By the end of November, more than 700 children had been hospitalized with the H3N2 strain of flu, which usually affects older people.
Other respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also sweep the country during flu season.
In British Columbia, the government is reactivating emergency operations centers at health authorities as pressures on the health care system continue to mount.
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And Omicron’s XBB sub-variant XBB.1.5 COVID-19 — considered by the World Health Organization to be the “most transmissible” COVID strain to date — has also made its way into Canada.
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As of August 28, 2022, 534 laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks have been reported in Canada, according to the influenza report.
A total of 54 percent, or 290, were reported in long-term care facilities.
To date, 182 flu-related deaths have been reported this season.
— with files from The Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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