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‘Get vaccinated’: As flu cases cross seasonal threshold in Canada, experts urge caution

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As cases of the flu continue to spread across the country, influenza activity has crossed the seasonal threshold, according to Canada’s public health agency.

With the weekly percentage of positive tests for flu sitting at 6.4 per cent — beyond the seasonal threshold of 5.0 per cent — the country could be headed toward an influenza epidemic, according to a recent report from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

“Flu season has started and it’s coming out with a bang,” Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, told Global News.

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Though influenza cases happen on a yearly basis, according to Bogoch, this flu season is emerging faster than most.

 

Flu cases ‘much greater’ this season

Despite the first two years of the COVID pandemic, where influenza activity remained low, the percentage of tests that are currently positive for flu are “much greater” than what is normally expected, Bogoch said.

Next week, if influenza levels remain this high, or anywhere over the 5.0 per cent threshold, PHAC plans to announce a nation-wide epidemic, the agency said in their most recent flu report. Between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29, 1,508 laboratory detections of the flu were reported.

Provinces including Ontario and New Brunswick have recently reported localized influenza activity in four regions. Additionally, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta have all also reported sporadic activity in 20 regions.

At this time in 2016, influenza activity sat at inter-seasonal levels with the majority of Canadian regions reporting low or no influenza activity. In 2017 at this time, it remained below the seasonal threshold.

So far this flu season, more than half of those infected were children and teenagers.

 

Strain on healthcare

A total of 17 laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks have also been listed across Canada since reporting began on Aug. 28. Six of these outbreaks were in long-term care facilities, three in acute care facilities and one in a school or daycare.

The increased flu activity is primarily seen in the influenza A strain of the virus, according to PHAC.

Across the border in the United States, an early spike in influenza cases has pushed hospitalization rates to the highest mark in a decade for this time of year, U.S. health officials said Friday.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if (Canada sees) what they see, a few weeks later,” said Bogoch. “One of the challenges we’re having is our health system is already stretched. We’re already in a difficult position and flu season is really in its infancy.”

“We know that it’s going to add additional stressors to an already stretched health-care system,” Bogoch added.

 

In Canada each year, the flu causes an estimated 12,200 hospital stays, according to the federal government. It is also among the ten leading causes of death in the country, taking the lives of approximately 3,500 people each year.

Since the start of flu season this year, 72 influenza-associated hospitalizations have been reported. There have also been eight ICU admissions.

 

Get the flu shot, say experts

The best way to stay protected from the flu, health experts say, is to get the flu shot.

“It’s really straightforward. It’s important for people to get vaccinated,” Bogoch said. “(Vaccines are) very good in terms of protecting people from getting the flu and if you do get it, they can mitigate the severity of illness.”

Hand hygiene and wearing a mask indoors can also “significantly reduce” the risk of catching the flu or other respiratory viruses, according to Bogoch.

Other health experts, including Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, have also urged Canadians to get their flu shot, along with their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to stay protected as the colder months approach.

Apart from flu, PHAC has also been preparing for a “worst-case scenario” when it comes to COVID-19 variants this fall as a resurgence of the virus looms.

“We’ve just been through the biggest pandemic of the current era, and it is very important to take note of lessons learned and be as objective as we can,” Tam said last month.

Other than the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity has also increased above expected levels for this time of year, according to PHAC.

When it comes to the transmission of other respiratory viruses, though, PHAC says activity is “relatively stable” and near expected for this time of year.

— With files from The Canadian Press and Reuters

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RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal

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April 19, 2024

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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.

The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.

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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.

The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.

Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”

Photo of benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl seized earlier this year by Grande Prairie RCMP after a fatal overdose. edm

From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.

Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.

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CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture

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April 19, 2024

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The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.

Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.

The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.

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Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.

As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.

This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.

Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.

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Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star

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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.

By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.

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