COVID-19 has killed 17 more New Brunswickers, including six over the holidays, while influenza has claimed nine lives. These are the first flu deaths of the season and they include a child under four, the latest data from the province shows.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yves Léger, the province’s acting chief medical officer of health, is warning the public about unusually high levels of strep bacterial infections — some of them fatal.
Group A streptococcus, the bacteria that causes illnesses such as strep throat and skin infections including impetigo, “can in rare cases lead to more severe and sometimes life-threatening infections where the bacteria invades parts of the body, such as the blood, the deep muscles, fat tissues or the lungs,” he said.
New Brunswick recorded roughly 100 cases of group A streptococcal infections in 2023, as of the end of October, said Léger. That’s “at least double” the annual average of the past five years, he said.
It’s a “concerning trend” being seen across Canada and in other countries, according to Léger — one that experts can’t yet explain.
N.B.’s top public health doctor says strep infections have doubled
Acting chief medical officer of health Dr. Yves Léger says New Brunswick’s flu season is nearing its peak, with strep infections higher than in previous years.
“While the majority of our cases seem to occur in older individuals, we’ve seen increases in most of the other age groups as well,” he told reporters during a media availability Tuesday. He did not provide any specifics.
Asked specifically about deaths, Léger confirmed some people have died, but again did not provide further details.
Group A strep is spread by droplets from the nose and mouth, so Léger urged people to take steps to protect themselves and others, such as staying home when sick, masking in public places and handwashing.
Anyone with symptoms, including bruises or cuts that might be infected, is encouraged to seek medical care, he said. Once people have been on antibiotics for 24 hours they’re no longer contagious.
COVID hospitalizes three children under 4
The Respiratory Watch report covers a three-week period, Dec. 10 to Dec. 30, instead of the usual one, because of the holidays.
Two of the people who died from COVID were between 45 and 64, while the other 15 were aged 65 or older, according to the report.
More than 1,000 New Brunswickers have been hospitalized for or with COVID-19 since the respiratory season began on Aug. 27, while the flu has sent 239 people to hospital, according to the report. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
A total of 174 people were hospitalized for or with COVID during the three-week reporting period.
Among them were three children under age four, 12 people aged 20 to 44, 26 aged 45 to 64 and 132 aged 65 or older.
Eleven required intensive care.
35 outbreaks, 13 in nursing homes
Thirty-five lab-confirmed COVID outbreaks were declared — 13 in nursing homes and 22 in “other facilities.”
There were 516 new cases of the virus confirmed through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab tests over the three weeks. The positivity rate remained stable at between 10 per cent and 14 per cent, the report says.
“COVID-19 activity remains moderate; all indicators remained stable throughout the current reporting period,” it says.
There have been 129,097 XBB.1.5 COVID vaccines administered since Oct. 4, according to figures from the Department of Health.
Flu rates higher than average seasonal peaks
In addition to the child aged 0-4, the flu killed a person aged 45 to 64, and seven people aged 65 or older, the report shows.
Four of the nine deaths occurred between Dec. 24 and Dec. 30.
The flu sent 174 people to hospital during the three reporting weeks, including six children under four and five youth aged five to 19. There were also 15 people aged 20 to 44, 35 aged 45 to 64 and 113 aged 65 or older.
Twenty-three people were admitted to intensive care, one of whom is under 19. The others include one person aged 20 to 44, five aged 45 to 64, and 16 aged 65 or older.
The number of influenza tests conducted and positive results between Dec. 10 and Dec. 30 are well above the historical averages for the seasons 2017-18 to 2022-23, data from the province shows. (Government of New Brunswick)
The rate of lab-confirmed flu cases was significantly higher during the three reporting weeks than the average seasonal peak between 2017-18 and 2022-23, which is usually later in the winter, the data shows.
There were 1,143 new cases confirmed. Almost all were influenza A and two were influenza B.
These raise the total number of flu cases since the respiratory reason began on Aug. 27 to 1,501.
The positivity rate jumped from 21 per cent to 29 per cent over the three weeks, the report shows.
The regional distribution of the flu cases includes:
Moncton region, Zone 1 — 303.
Saint John region, Zone 2 — 147.
Fredericton region, Zone 3 — 249.
Edmundston region, Zone 4 — 64.
Campbellton region, Zone 5 — 44.
Bathurst region, Zone 6 — 254.
Miramichi region, Zone 7 — 82.
Ten schools reported new influenza-like illness outbreaks. No information about the schools, the number of cases or whether it’s students or staff affected has been released.
School outbreaks are based on 10 per cent absenteeism in a school because of influenza-like illness symptoms, the report says.
A total of 200,707 New Brunswickers have been vaccinated against the flu since Oct. 4.
10 Horizon hospital unit COVID outbreaks
Horizon Health Network has 62 active COVID-19 hospitalizations, as of Saturday, according to its weekly COVID dashboard. Six of those people are in intensive care.
Moncton Hospital — chronic care, acute stroke, neurology, general surgery.
Saint John Regional Hospital — internal medicine, family medicine, orthopedics and urology surgery.
St. Joseph’s Hospital — geriatric assessment.
Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital — perioperative services, palliative care, and the coronary care unit.
Charlotte County Hospital — family medicine.
Nineteen Horizon health-care workers are off the job after testing positive for COVID with a rapid test or PCR test.
Vitalité Health Network isupdating its COVID-19 report only monthly, typically on the last Tuesday of each month. Its December report shows 45 people hospitalized for or with COVID-19.
Seventy-two Vitalité health-care workers had to be removed from work because they were COVID-positive, the dashboard shows.
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.
