Another nine Albertans have died from influenza

By Gillian Slade on January 26, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

This winter’s death toll from flu in Alberta now stands at 55, with an additional nine of those recorded in the past week.

Three were in the south zone, 24 in the Calgary zone, eight in the central zone, 16 in Edmonton and four in the north zone, according to Alberta Health Services’s latest data released Thursday.

Last year by Jan. 26, there had been 34 deaths across Alberta and six in the south zone.

The 2014/2015 flu season was particularly severe, and according to the numbers reported Jan. 28, 2015, there had been 52 deaths across the province with eight in the south zone.

So far this flu season we have seen 2,012 Albertans hospitalized, with 151 in the south zone. In 2015, those numbers stood at 1,169 and 101 respectively.

The number of laboratory-confirmed influenza A cases this season stands at 4,860 across Alberta and 362 in the south zone.

Across the province there have been 1,868 influenza B lab-confirmed cases, with 145 in the south zone.

The total doses of influenza vaccine administered this flu season stands at 1,186,548, with 88,951 in the south zone.

All Albertans aged six months and older are eligible to receive influenza immunization free of charge. There are no more AHS flu vaccine clinics scheduled but many pharmacies offer the service. The vaccine contains four strains of influenza virus, including influenza A Michigan, influenza A Hong Kong, influenza B Brisbane and influenza B Phuket.

If you have symptoms that resemble the flu and are not sure whether you need to seek medical help or simply stay home until you are better, Health Link can help, Dr. Lizette Elumir, south zone medical officer of health, told the News recently.

“They ask the appropriate questions that give them a sense of the risk and a sense of the urgency,” said Elumir.

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