Shut out from COVID-19, influenza appears to be making a comeback in Canada. Why?
Global News
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Canadians have seen very little flu activity, yet it appears that trend may be starting to change.
Flu infections are increasing in Canada – an unusual trend for this time of year when cases typically are in decline.
Since the beginning of April, detections of influenza have “sharply increased,” the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in its latest FluWatch report published April 22.
The report, which documented flu activity between March 13 and April 16, shows all indicators of influenza activity have risen in recent weeks — a time of the year when, historically, average flu cases are declining in the country.
About 1,287 laboratory detections were reported, and a majority of cases with detailed age information were in Canadians under 45 years of age.
“Detections of influenza have sharply increased, from an average of 40 detections a week in March, to 492 detections in the most recent reporting week,” the report reads.
“The threshold for calling the start of a seasonal epidemic in Canada is a five per cent positivity rate. With increasing influenza activity, Canada may reach this threshold in the coming weeks and signal the start of a seasonal influenza epidemic.”
Typically, Canada reaches the start of flu season anywhere from late October to early January, a PHAC spokesperson told Global News. Right now, the positivity rate for influenza is 6.8 per cent, which is within previously seen historical levels at this time of year, they added.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the flu was virtually non-existent in Canada due to protective measures put in place to limit the spread of the novel pathogen.