Alberta flu deaths already at 3
By Gillian Slade on November 4, 2017.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade It is early in the flu season but the number of laboratory-confirmed cases is considerably higher than last year, and there have already been three deaths including one in Alberta Health Services’s south zone, according to numbers released this week. There have been 257 lab-confirmed cases of influenza A, with 12 in the south zone. There have been another 31 lab-confirmed cases of influenza B, and 12 cases of influenza where the particular strain has not been identified yet. None of these were in the south zone. By comparison, at this stage last year there had been a total of 87 influenza A and 10 influenza B cases confirmed. So far this season 90 Albertans have been admitted to hospital with lab-confirmed influenza and eight of those were in the south zone. By Nov. 3 last year there had been 32 hospitalized and one of those was in the south zone. The hospitalization number and those with an influenza strain not yet identified, are a cumulative total from Aug. 28 to Oct. 28. Across the province there have already been three deaths related to lab-confirmed influenza and one of those was in the south zone. It is still early in the season to tell what the severity of the flu season will be this season, said Dr. Lena Derie-Gillespie, medical officer of health in the AHS south zone in a recent interview. The number of deaths and those hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza is not a true reflection of the ravages of the illness, said Derie-Gillespie. Many who get ill are not laboratory tested and go unrecorded. Others are seriously ill, miss work and school and suffer complications for a long time. Many Albertans have received the influenza vaccine for a total of 424,101 and of those 36,272 were in the south zone administered by Alberta Health Services public health, non-AHS physicians and non-AHS pharmacists. All Albertans, aged six months and older, are eligible to receive influenza immunization free of charge. Upcoming flu immunization clinics in Medicine Hat at Higdon Hall on the Stampede grounds are as follows: Nov. 4, 9 a.m. to noon, Nov. 14, 2-6 p.m., Nov. 28, 2-6 p.m., Dec. 20, 2-6 p.m. and Jan. 15, 2-6 p.m. Only one type of influenza vaccine is being offered free of charge — Fluzone as an injection. The vaccine contains four strains of influenza virus including influenza A Michigan, influenza A Hong Kong, influenza B Brisbane and influenza B Phuket. FluMist the nasal spray previously available for children between the ages of two and 17 is not available this season through AHS. The influenza vaccine FLUAD, designed to boost the immune response in seniors, will not be available except to seniors living in long-term care or supportive living. Some pharmacists may choose to offer FluMist and/or FLUAD to Albertans for a fee paid by the patient. 17
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