Stats show Alberta flu deaths near 100
Alberta is on the verge of an undesirable milestone, after new statistics released Thursday show nearly 100 people who contracted the flu have died this season.
Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services, said he is hoping for a calm end to influenza season within the next few weeks, with no further spikes in cases. However, he admitted the virus had already done considerable damage, particularly to frail seniors, who account for the vast majority of the deaths.
“There are many different ways to characterize it, but in terms of the number of outbreaks we saw in seniors homes and long- term care facilities, I think we can say it was definitely a worse than average year for us,” Predy said.
The 99 flu- related deaths so far reported to AHS is the highest total on record in Alberta since the mid- 1990s, when reliable statistics began being kept. Predy said there are likely several reasons for the high number, including an unexpected mutation that occurred to the H3N2 virus that became dominant. The shift in the bug’s structure meant the seasonal flu vaccine that had been prepared months earlier was not effective against the illness.
In addition, Predy said the higher death figures likely reflect improved surveillance and methods of detecting flu cases.
“Health care providers, physicians and others are getting more used to identifying influenza as an underlying cause of death. So each year we get a little better at measuring,” he said.
Of the 99 deaths, 40 occurred in Calgary and 29 in Edmonton. The numbers also show that 87 of those deaths happened to patients who were hospitalized, while 12 were reported from the community. Predy said there are undoubtedly more flu- related deaths in the community that cannot be confirmed because no tests were done.
He said public health officials are somewhat concerned the vaccine’s failure this year could negatively impact Albertans’ desire to get the shot next year.
“We will want emphasize to people that just because there was mismatch on the vaccine this year, it doesn’t mean the same thing will happen next year,” Predy said. “Each year at the end of the flu season we look back and ask ourselves what have we learned from the past year and what can we do differently.”
It is not clear how many vaccine doses Alberta plans to order for the fall, though the latest provincial budget did feature a modest increase for purchasing supplies. The province ordered two million doses for the 2014- 15 season, but more than 750,000 of those are likely to go to waste.
Predy said public health officials are also keeping a close eye on other bugs, such as Ebola, which has yet to show up in Canada. He said there is also continued concern about measles, a highly infectious illness that showed up in the province in unusually high numbers in 2014.