Flu blamed in deaths of 3 children in Ottawa area this month
CBC
Three children between the ages of five and nine have died from complications of influenza this month, health officials in Ottawa and a neighbouring region said Monday.
Ottawa Public Health and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit did not specify in their joint statement where or when the children died.
"Pediatric deaths due to influenza occur every year in Canada, but it is unusual to see this number of deaths over such a short period of time," Dr. Trevor Arnason, Ottawa's medical officer of health, told CBC News in an interview Monday.
Both health authorities are renewing their call for everyone to get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible.
"We're still in advance of the holiday season, [before] people are at gatherings and visiting with others, [so now is] the most critical time to be vaccinated," Arnason said.
This year's flu season has arrived earlier than normal, he added.
CHEO, Ottawa's children's hospital, said Monday that 300 positive results from flu tests were recorded Dec. 1-10, compared to only 11 during the same period last year.
The hospital has warned of a concerning rise in flu-related visits. Last week, the hospital asked family doctors in the region to step up their flu-fighting efforts.
As of the last official update from Ottawa Public Health, flu levels in the capital were "very high" and rising.
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