Flu infections are increasing in Canada – an unusual trend for this time of year when cases typically are in decline.
Since the beginning of April, detections of influenza have “sharply increased,” the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in its latest FluWatch report published April 22.
The report, which documented flu activity between March 13 and April 16, shows all indicators of influenza activity have risen in recent weeks — a time of the year when, historically, average flu cases are declining in the country.
About 1,287 laboratory detections were reported, and a majority of cases with detailed age information were in Canadians under 45 years of age.
“Detections of influenza have sharply increased, from an average of 40 detections a week in March, to 492 detections in the most recent reporting week,” the report reads.
“The threshold for calling the start of a seasonal epidemic in Canada is a five per cent positivity rate. With increasing influenza activity, Canada may reach this threshold in the coming weeks and signal the start of a seasonal influenza epidemic.”
Typically, Canada reaches the start of flu season anywhere from late October to early January, a PHAC spokesperson told Global News. Right now, the positivity rate for influenza is 6.8 per cent, which is within previously seen historical levels at this time of year, they added.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the flu was virtually non-existent in Canada due to protective measures put in place to limit the spread of the novel pathogen.
PHAC recorded 69 influenza detections in the 2020-21 flu season. Normally, around 52,000 cases are detected each year.
So far this reporting season, which PHAC indicates as starting on Aug. 29, 2021, Canada has logged 1,842 influenza cases as of April 16. On average, the country sees 43,627 cases recorded by this time of year.
To date this season, Canada has seen 12 laboratory-confirmed flu outbreaks; six were in long-term care facilities, five in facilities categorized as “other” and one in an acute care facility. “Other” facilities can include locations like private personal care homes, correctional facilities, and colleges/universities, the government said.
There are many potential reasons why flu cases are increasing, PHAC said, and one of them may be related to COVID-19.
“One reason for the increase in cases may be due to the lifting of public health restrictions that were in place for the past two years in Canada and globally,” the spokesperson said.
“This late-season increase in cases is not unique to Canada; since early March, influenza activity has increased in both the United States and parts of Europe.”
When the highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant emerged in late November, Canadians across the country saw a reintroduction of protective measures imposed to curb the spread.
But earlier this year, several jurisdictions unveiled plans to lift those measures depending on how their situations improved, and have acted on them since.
Those restrictions like mask mandates — while imposed to limit COVID-19 activity — controlled the spread of viruses like influenza, said Dr. Susy Hota, an infectious diseases specialist with the University Health Network in Toronto.
“It’s probably why if you ask anecdotally, a large sample of people would say, ‘Yes, it’s been great the last two years. I haven’t had other viruses that I normally would get during the year,’” she said.
“These measures are not specific to one type of pathogen. They would work for other things as well.”
It’s unclear if influenza infections will continue to rise, PHAC said. The flu typically persists above the seasonal threshold until late May, but it is “notoriously hard to predict,” the spokesperson added. The next FluWatch report is scheduled for May 27.
What is clear however is that Canadians will likely experience a summer season with loosened COVID-19 restrictions, and that may spell trouble come fall, said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
If this coming fall and winter are mostly restriction-free, Canadians could likely see the flu and COVID-19 circulate together, he added.
“This coming winter is going to be incredibly important for us to determine what the future is going to look like with these two viruses circulating around,” Evans said.
“Wear a mask if you are concerned about infections, particularly if you carry personal risk or you live or hang around with people who may be at considerable risk.
“Obviously, when it’s not mandated, it depends on personal preferences, so my message would be really give it some serious thought: wearing a mask is not that onerous, particularly during the winter.”
Canadians should also keep up-to-date with vaccinations, Hota said.
“Whatever we can do to reduce the number of people who are really negatively affected by any of these viruses … the better it’s going to be for all of us to get through the fall and the respiratory virus season, and make sure that hospitals don’t get overwhelmed and we’re not back at that place again,” she said.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
