Death toll from flu rises to 11 in province
Between the beginning of September and Feb. 17, 2,422 cases of influenza have been confirmed in Saskatchewan.
The number of flu cases in Saskatchewan has jumped nearly 650 since Jan. 27.
Recent data also shows 11 people have died as a result of the flu since Sept. 1.
“Two of those deaths were related to influenza B,” said Dr. Denise Werker, Saskatchewan’s deputy chief medical health officer, speaking to reporters Friday.
The other nine deaths are related to influenza type A.
Thirty-four people have been admitted to intensive care units, as a result of the virus.
The number of those who have died due to influenza this year is comparable to previous years, Werker said.
According to medical officials, this season’s flu vaccine has been a “poor match” — at least for the dominant H3N2 influenza type A virus. That type peaked in December and is now on decline.
While Werker said the vaccine has been more effective in tackling type B influenza, that type that has driven flu numbers up in recent weeks.
In fact, Werker said that there have been twice as many cases of influenza type B this year than there were in 2014-15, when that type was prominent.
Werker said “it’s likely that influenza B has peaked,” but added that she would like to see next week’s data before she could be confident about the trend.
“Generally what happens is influenza starts in the south and then moves its way up to the north,” Werker said, but noted she had not received any reports that any geographic area had been more affected than others.
For those who haven’t been vaccinated this year, Werker said there’s not much point in bothering now. “All we can do is monitor what is going on and reinforce the messages of prevention,” she said, noting people should wash their hands frequently, watch where they’re sneezing and stay home if they’re sick.
“Because it takes 10 to 14 days for the influenza vaccine to be effective, that’s why I would say I wouldn’t be encouraging vaccination at this time.”