New Brunswick has recorded an all-time high of 836 positive flu cases in one week and 115 hospitalizations, nearly double the previous record, says the acting chief medical officer of health.
Close to 20 per cent of those hospitalized were children and youth, Dr. Yves Léger told reporters Tuesday. That’s one in five, which he described as being “maybe a little bit higher” than previous years.
Since the beginning of the 2022-23 flu season on Aug. 28, a total of 61 youth under age 20 have been hospitalized in New Brunswick, he revealed. The “majority” of them have been under 10.
The number of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, cases also continues to increase, along with COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations, he said.
The situation has gotten worse since his last media briefing on Nov. 18, when he urged New Brunswickers to help change “worrisome” course of the triple threat of respiratory viruses by taking protective measures, such as wearing a mask indoors, limiting social contacts and staying home when ill.
‘Call to action’ hasn’t helped
The simultaneous activity of these viruses is putting added pressure on strained hospitals and is impacting the education system and workplaces through high rates of absences, he said.
Léger had hoped sharing his concerns last month would “serve as a call to action.”
But he remains very concerned, he said, particularly with holiday gatherings quickly approaching.
Léger warned he expects to see an increase in respiratory virus activity across the province after the holidays, “unless we all adopt many of these [protective] strategies.”
Asked why he doesn’t recommend the government impose some mandatory protective measures in advance of the holidays, he said it’s something Public Health continues to “discus and review.”
“These are measures that … remove people’s liberties to make decisions on their own so they’re certainly not taken lightly. And there are a number of factors that need to be carefully weighed before we make those decisions.
“We don’t feel that we’re there at this point. But certainly, if we do feel that we get there eventually we will certainly make sure that that gets communicated to New Brunswickers.”
The victims have ranged from their 30s to their 90s, according to the Department of Health. They died between Oct. 20 and Nov. 28, said spokesperson Adam Bowie.
No other details about the victims, such as any underlying health conditions or their vaccination status, have been released.
The province’s flu death toll all of last season was five.
The 836 lab-confirmed cases reported during the week in question, referred to as week 48, is the highest ever recorded since the province started influenza reporting during the 2005-06 season, Léger told reporters.
The previous record occurred during the 2009-10 season, when 712 cases were confirmed, according to the department.
The 115 flu hospitalizations is nearly double the province’s previous record high of 69 in January 2019, Léger said.
An increase in flu testing in the province this year could account for some of the increases in cases and even hospitalizations, according to Léger. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
He noted the province is doing “a lot more testing” than in previous years. “That additional testing could account for part of the increase in cases or even hospitalizations that may have been missed in previous years,” he said.
“Nevertheless, an increase in respiratory virus activity was expected this year, which is reflected in part through this testing.”
The test positivity rate is also continuing to increase, he said, but remains below the historical high.
Flu shots still 10% below last year
As of Dec. 12, a total of 196,976 influenza vaccines have been administered, according to the Department of Health. That’s down about 10 per cent from the 219,475 vaccines administered at the same time last year.
“It’s important to note that flu immunizations began a week earlier last season, and some changes around the reporting process for pharmacies and primary care providers may be contributing to a lag in the reporting of this data,” the department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Asked why New Brunswick isn’t offering something similar, Léger did not answer directly, but did say the lower than usual vaccination rates are a concern.
“We do want to message that and emphasize the importance of getting [the] flu vaccine,” he said, noting there is availability of doses and clinics.
“We are looking at increasing our messaging around our campaign to encourage people to do that,” he added, without providing any specifics.
Of the shots administered so far, about 8,164 have been for children aged six months to eight years, and 7,814 for youth aged nine to 18 years.
A total of 83,317 shots have been administered to people aged 19 to 64 years, and about 97,681 have been provided to those aged 65 years or older.
May hold public update in future
Léger held the media availability via Zoom, along with Greg Doiron, vice-president of clinical operations for the Horizon Health Network, and Sharon Smyth-Okana, vice-president of clinical services for the Vitalité Health Network.
Asked why he didn’t hold a public news conference instead, Léger said he feels media briefings are “quite effective” at getting information out to New Brunswickers.
“But certainly [it’s] something that we will look at going forward,” he said.
It’s been months since Public Health held a public update.
On Tuesday, Léger denied the government has any sway on when he holds updates and whether they are available to the public.
“I’ve always committed to making sure that I would communicate with New Brunswickers when there were important messages to share,” he said.
“I do remain committed to doing that and will continue to do so and feel that I’m quite able to make those decisions on my own, as part of Public Health.”
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.
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