According to Public Health Canada’s latest FluWatch report, the virus is spreading across much of Canada. “Nationally, influenza activity has exceeded the seasonal threshold, indicating the beginning of an influenza epidemic,” the report said. “All surveillance indicators are rising and most are above expected levels that are typical for this time of year.” The national test positivity rate alone nearly doubled in a week, jumping from 6.3 percent to 11.7 percent, surpassing the five percent threshold that puts the country in an epidemic. The hardest hit communities appear to be in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. Ryan Weichel’s six-year-old daughter, Sunny, is one of them. Just before her birthday, Sunny spent four days in the hospital battling the flu. “He’s been through a lot the last two weeks. The first five hours he just wanted to go home. Very hard,” Weichel told CTV News. She said Sunny had a relentless fever that led to a trip to the ER, where she tested positive for influenza A. Dehydrated and in need of treatment, she was admitted to pediatric care after a 12-hour wait. He is finally home now and on the mend. “It was a very scary situation,” Weichel said. “It could get worse and worse as time went on if we couldn’t manage the fever and manage the hydration.” The Weichels are among a growing number of families dealing with the flu. Dr. Colin Furness is an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s school of information. “The flu is very unpredictable,” Furness told CTV News from Toronto. “Sometimes he comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, sometimes the other way around, sometimes neither. This is a great mystery.” Scientists can look to the southern hemisphere for what’s next. Australia also had an early flu season with a high number of infections. But even in typical years, the death toll can be high. “A typical flu season is not mild,” Dr. Alison Kelvin, a virologist with the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Agency at the University of Saskatchewan, told CTV News. “We lose about 3,000 people a year in Canada to the flu.” Seasonal flu epidemics occur most years, but in 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 restrictions are drastically reducing the spread. During these flu seasons, the positive test rate did not even reach one percent. This season will be different and right now, the kids are affected the most. The most recent FluWatch report from the week of Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 shows hospitalizations for people 16 and under have increased to more than 70, up from 40 the previous week and seven the week before. Children between the ages of two and four and between the ages of 10 and 16 account for 27 per cent of hospitalizations, while those aged five to nine make up 24 per cent. Current test positive rates are now above seasonal averages dating back to 2014. Meanwhile, pediatric hospitals have reported overcapacity as a result of recent waves of respiratory illnesses with live flu, RSV and COVID-19. Doctors and hospital administrators have also spoken publicly about staff shortages. “How this mixes with COVID and other viruses … I don’t have a crystal ball,” said Kelvin, of the University of Saskatchewan, indicating that she will be watching in the coming weeks. Experts say the flu shot is effective against the strains of flu currently circulating – if people get it. With files from CTVNews.ca’s Michael Lee
