2023-12-13 04:54:10
[The Epoch Times, December 13, 2023](Reported by reporter Chen An) The surge in the number of influenza hospitalizations has caused overcrowding in hospital wards in Alberta, and the peak period has not yet arrived.
That’s according to the provincial respiratory virus information platform, which charts this year’s surge in laboratory-confirmed seasonal cases of the main H1N1 strain, as well as the severe consequences of influenza and Covid strains.
“This is actually a pretty serious flu season,” said Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital.
The surprising number of hospitalizations in the 18-65 age group suggests more people should get the flu vaccine.
Sassinger said while public information platforms show vaccination rates are not available, data from elsewhere in the province shows high early vaccination rates but fewer people getting vaccinated later in the rollout.
It would also be a mistake not to emphasize the importance of vaccination at this stage, she said.
“Even though flu season is regarding to reach its peak, it’s not too late to get vaccinated. The number of cases is going down (from the peak) just as much as it is going up. If you haven’t had the flu, you’re still protected.”
Long before the flu vaccine was available, as many as 10% of people had been infected with the flu, which was accompanied by symptoms such as fever, headache and cough.
Health care workers tend to be vaccinated, and most medical centers are equipped with masks — two factors that can reduce employee illness.
“There is good data to show that when health care workers are vaccinated, the mortality rate of the people who live there decreases,” Sassinger said.
She said that while influenza typically spreads from south to north around the world, provincial spread is often a “multicast event, with case numbers rising rapidly in each location.”
“(This year’s tracking chart) has a similar shape to last year, rising very quickly.”
Because of the lag in reported numbers, it’s difficult to tell exactly when and where the flu will peak this year.
“If we’re not at the top, we’re probably close to it,” Sassinger said.
Transmission of respiratory viruses is typically highest in the fall and winter, and 2023-2024 will be no exception.
So far in the 2023-2024 flu season, 777 people have been hospitalized, 98 people have been admitted to the ICU, and 26 people have died from the flu so far this season.
There are 1,339 lab-confirmed cases in Edmonton and 1,418 in Calgary.
Most people hospitalized and admitted to ICUs with influenza are 40 and older. The overall influenza in-hospital mortality rate is 0.6%. While these numbers show children are getting the flu and being hospitalized, there have been no reported flu deaths among teenagers as of December 2.
Editor in charge: Qi Shoushan
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