Lots of flu tests done, still no cases in Alberta

Alberta Health Services says there are still no cases of influenza in Alberta but many people have been tested for it.

By Nov. 2 last year there had been 325 cases of influenza lab identified in Alberta and 49 of them were in the south zone. There were 66 people in Alberta hospitals with flu, of which 38 were in the south zone. Across Canada there had been 711 cases.

The latest numbers for Alberta this flu season were made public on Thursday. No cases in Alberta at all and across the whole of Canada there are just 17 cases so far.

Unlike COVID-19, AHS has not generally revealed the number of flu lab tests being done. At the request of the News the number of tests for Alberta this flu season have been released.

“APL (Alberta Precision Laboratory) has tested more than 47,000 respiratory swabs since Aug. 23. These do not include COVID-19 tests. So far this flu season there have been no positive seasonal influenza test results,” said a spokesperson for AHS in an email.

There are reports of some countries doing flu tests when a COVID-19 test is being done because the symptoms, triggering the request for a test, can be similar. This is not the case in Alberta.

“Patients visiting our COVID-19 assessment centres are being tested for COVID-19 only,” said the AHS spokesperson. “In any care setting, no Albertan would be tested for influenza without their knowledge and consent.”

AHS says the health measures in place for COVID-19 could be reducing the spread of the flu virus. This includes “enhanced respiratory etiquette, hand hygiene and physical distancing.”

In the Southern Hemisphere, South Africa and Australia have just finished winter and are enjoying spring weather. Both countries reported lower influenza activity compared to a year ago, said the AHS spokesperson.

We are only at the beginning of the flu season however, and AHS is stressing the importance of getting immunized.

According to AHS’s fourth weekly report on this influenza season, 1,236,324 Albertans have now been immunized.

In 2017 by the end of November the number for the whole province was 958,961 and last year by the middle of November it was 936,675.

In the south zone, which includes Medicine Hat, the number of immunizations is 79,063 so far this season.

Many pharmacies and doctors offices are providing influenza immunization shots but families with children less than five years old can make an appointment (online, see link below) with AHS.

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/influenza/influenza.aspx