Influenza infections are on the rise in Canada, an unusual trend at this time of year, when cases tend to decrease.
Influenza findings have “risen sharply” since early April, the Canadian Public Health Agency (PHAC) said in its latest FluWatch report, published on April 22.
The report, which documents flu activity between March 13th and April 16th, shows that all flu activity rates have risen in recent weeks, a time of year when the country’s average flu case is declining.
Read more: There are hardly any Canadians who caught the flu last year. What to expect this fall?
About 1,287 laboratory findings were reported, and most cases with detailed age information were in Canadians under the age of 45.
“Influenza detections have risen sharply from an average of 40 detections per week in March to 492 detections in the last reporting week,” the report said.
“The threshold for declaring the start of a seasonal epidemic in Canada is 5 percent positive. With the increase in flu activity, Canada could reach this threshold in the coming weeks and signal the onset of a seasonal flu epidemic. “
Canada typically reaches the start of the flu season from late October to early January, a PHAC spokesman told Global News. Currently, the positive rate for influenza is 6.8 percent, which is within the historical levels observed so far at this time of year, they added.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, influenza was virtually non-existent in Canada due to protective measures in place to limit the spread of the new pathogen.
PHAC registered 69 influenza detections during the 2020-21 flu season. Usually about 52,000 cases are detected each year.
Read more: How health measures against COVID-19 hit the flu in Canada this season
So far in this reporting season, which PHAC lists as beginning on August 29, 2021, Canada has registered 1,842 cases of influenza as of April 16. On average, the country sees 43,627 cases registered at this time of year.
The recent increase in flu in Canada comes from peaks reported in Quebec, prairies and territories, according to the latest federal report on the detection of respiratory viruses.
To date, Canada has observed 12 laboratory-confirmed outbreaks of influenza this season; six were in long-term care facilities, five in ‘other’ facilities and one in an acute care facility. “Other” facilities could include places such as private personal care homes, correctional facilities and colleges / universities, the government said.
There are many potential reasons why the incidence of influenza is increasing, PHAC said, and one of them may be related to COVID-19.
“One of the reasons for the increase in cases may be due to the removal of public health restrictions that have been in place for the past two years in Canada and worldwide,” the spokesman said.
“This increase in end-of-season cases is not unique to Canada; since the beginning of March, flu activity has increased in both the United States and parts of Europe.
Read more: Influenza cases reach record lows during pandemic: researcher
When the highly portable version of the Omicron COVID-19 appeared in late November, Canadians across the country saw a reintroduction of protection measures imposed to limit its spread.
But earlier this year, several jurisdictions unveiled plans to lift the measures, depending on how their situation has improved and have taken action since.
These restrictions, such as mandatory masks – although imposed to limit the activity of COVID-19 – controlled the spread of viruses such as influenza, said Dr. Susie Hotta, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto Health Network.
“Probably that’s why, if you ask anecdotally, a large sample of people would say, ‘Yes, it’s been great for the last two years.’ “I didn’t have any other viruses that I would normally get during the year,” she said.
“These measures are not specific to one pathogen. They would work for other things as well. “
It is unclear whether influenza infections will continue to rise, the PHAC said. The flu usually lasts above the seasonal threshold until the end of May, but is “somewhat difficult to predict,” the spokesman added. The next FluWatch report is scheduled for May 27.
What is clear, however, is that Canadians are likely to survive the summer season with loose restrictions on COVID-19, and this could lead to problems coming in the fall, said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University in Kingston. , Ont.
Read more: “Extremely low”: Flu season in Canada falls amid restrictions on coronavirus
If this coming fall and winter are largely unrestricted, Canadians could probably see the flu and COVID-19 circulating together, he added.
“This coming winter will be extremely important for us to determine what the future will look like with these two viruses circulating around,” Evans said.
“Wear a mask if you are concerned about infections, especially if you are at personal risk or living or hanging out with people who may be at significant risk.
“Obviously, when it’s not mandatory, it depends on personal preference, so my message would be to really think about it seriously: wearing a mask is not so burdensome, especially in winter.
Canadians also need to keep up with vaccinations, Hotta said.
“Whatever we can do to reduce the number of people who are really negatively affected by one of these viruses, it will be all the better for all of us to survive the autumn and season of respiratory viruses and make sure that hospitals “We are not overloaded and we are not going back to this place,” she said.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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