FLU NUMBERS HIT CITY HARD
The most intense frequency of flu across Canada is occurring in Alberta, despite normal vaccination rates, says Health Canada
This year’s flu season is hitting hard in Calgary, which has recorded nearly four times as many cases as Edmonton.
And Alberta also appears to be an influenza hotbed for Canada.
Since late August, 652 instances of the illness have been confirmed in Calgary, compared to 167 in the province’s capital.
That Calgary figure is more than half the total for Alberta, which on Nov. 30 was at 1,147.
The city has had 190 influenza hospitalizations, compared to 61 in Edmonton.
Even so, Calgarians haven’t shied away from flu vaccinations in relation to their counterparts in Edmonton, with 397,873 inoculations compared to 325,691 respectively.
Three of the five deaths recorded so far in Alberta this flu season have occurred in the Alberta Health Service’s Calgary zone, one in Edmonton.
It’s a trend that’s proven stubborn, said Dr. Judy MacDonald, AHS medical officer of health for the Calgary zone.
“We’ve had a head start and we’ve maintained it, but it’s present in all areas of Alberta,” she said.
“It’s been an early arrival for influenza this year.”
But even those figures are the “tip of the iceberg” in the number of flu cases in the population, and only represent those from people who report their illness to physicians, said MacDonald.
“It’s not a reflection of all the influenza out there,” she said.
Meanwhile, Health Canada data tabulated up to Nov. 18 shows Alberta with the most intense frequency of flu in the country.
MacDonald said that could be partly the result of excellent surveillance in the province. “But it is a reflection of influenza activity. … We have more influenza activity than areas around us,” she said.
Contributing to that could be more frequent travel activity among Albertans, which brings the illness home, said MacDonald.
But the number of deaths in Alberta this year are still far behind the 64 recorded throughout the province last year.
MacDonald said Albertans, who have received 958,961 flu vaccinations so far this season, are nearly 100,000 inoculations ahead of last year at this time.
She said the vaccine’s effectiveness probably won’t be apparent for another two months, a reality that shouldn’t discourage those who haven’t yet received a dose.
“There’s no reason to be waiting to find out — there’s still vaccine available,” she said.
The vast majority of cases are influenza A, which hit Australia hard in its most recent flu season and what AHS officials fear could be repeated here. MacDonald said it’s not clear those fears are coming true, which doesn’t detract from the seriousness of influenza’s presence in Alberta.