This year's flu is packing a punch. How hospitals are trying to deal with surging cases

Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.

The situation is serious enough that some hospitals are taking extra precautions to prevent strain on the system and to curb flu transmission within their facilities.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), in its most recent reporting released Dec. 19, indicated a significant week-over-week jump in hospitalizations, with people over the age of 65 and children under four accounting for the most influenza-related admissions.

While it's not entirely unusual to see influenza cases increase this time of year, health officials have said an early start to flu season and some provinces seeing just 20 per cent of eligible people getting vaccinated have likely contributed to a quicker uptick and, subsequently, greater pressure on hospitals.

"It's too soon to know how this season is going to shake out," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital. "But I think when we're looking at the data in hindsight, there probably will be more hospitalizations related to the flu this year compared to a regular flu season."

Doctors, epidemiologists and other health officials have all warned that the strain of flu hitting Canada is more severe.

Emeline Edgett, a musical theatre student at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., said she felt "pretty awful" when she came down with the flu around two weeks ago.

She told CBC News that her symptoms started with nausea, then escalated quickly to a fever and chills as well as head and body aches.

"It was painful just to be, like, standing," she said.

This particular season is being dominated by H3N2, a subtype of influenza A, which accounts for nearly all of the positive cases of influenza in Canada at the moment — 99.4 per cent — according PHAC.

Otherwise healthy adults are winding up in the ER, with some even needing intensive care, says Dr. Raghu Venugopal, an emergency physician in Toronto, who noted that every ER across the country "is working gangbusters."

"I think most Canadians know we don't have strong bed capacity in provinces like Ontario, but really across the country," he said.

Venugopal says people should do what he has done since he got the flu just over a week ago: stay home and rest until you recover.

He says people should only visit the ER if they truly need primary care, not just to confirm if they have the flu or not.