Influenza in Alberta: Cases continue to decline, 3 new deaths added
Influenza in Alberta: Cases continue to decline, 3 new deaths added
A nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta, Feb. 7, 2018. Canada's chief public health officer says more children are being hospitalized this flu season because of an early spike in a strain of influenza B, which hits young people hard and is circulating across the country while a strain that typically targets the elderly also makes the rounds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, David Goldman
Three more Albertans died from influenza in a one-week period, according to the latest data from health officials, while newly reported cases decreased for the 10th week in a row since the peak in mid-November.
The total of 105 deaths makes the current flu season the second-highest of 14 flu seasons in the province. The 2014-15 season had the highest number of deaths, with 114.
The three people who died were adults, two of them seniors. One senior was aged 80-89, while the other was 90 years or older. The third person was between the ages of 50-59.
The Edmonton zone reported two deaths, while the Calgary zone reported one.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
This influenza season, 1,996 Albertans have required hospital care. There were 17 new admissions in the latest update.
This season has the second-highest number of hospitalizations in 14 seasons so far.
The Calgary zone has had the most patients requiring hospital care with 753, followed by the Edmonton zone’s 553.
Of the 17 new admissions between Jan. 22 and 28, 29 per cent were aged nine or younger. Forty-one per cent were aged 60 or older.
To date, 208 people have required intensive care, an increase of three since the last update. The majority of ICU patients have also been in the Calgary zone.
Two of the new ICU admissions are people 60 years or older, while the third person was between the ages of 30-39.
CASES
New cases of influenza dropped for the 10th week straight after Alberta reported 54 new infections on Thursday.
According to Alberta Health data, this season has the second-highest number of cases in 14 seasons, with a total of 8,697 infections so far. The 2017-18 flu season had the highest number of cases with 9,115.
The Calgary zone has had the highest number of influenza cases in the province, with a total of 2,935 so far.
The Edmonton zone has the second-highest number of cases in Alberta with 2,484.
The Central zone has had 1,042 cases; the North zone has reported 1,553 cases; while the South zone has counted 676. Seven cases have not been assigned a zone.
Influenza A has made up 99.3 per cent of this season’s laboratory-confirmed cases.
OUTBREAKS AND VACCINATIONS
There have been a total of 95 outbreaks in Alberta this season, an increase of two. Fifty-six per cent have been at supportive living and home living sites.
More than 1.2 million influenza vaccines have been administered since Oct. 17, translating to 27.2 per cent of Albertans being immunized. There are also 62,498 more people vaccinated compared to this time last year.
Of Albertans aged 65 or older, 63.4 per cent have been vaccinated for influenza, while 26.6 per cent of children between six months and four years have their vaccine.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned six per cent increase.
The federal budget shows the government's proposed dental-care insurance program will cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, driving it up by another $7.3 billion over five years.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
The federal Liberal government is committing $8.7 million to hold more consultations on Indigenous resource sharing, in a budget that offers relatively little new spending on its reconciliation agenda.
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Rima Rifai thought her furnace had exploded Monday when the house across the street burst into a ball of fire, sending 10 people to hospital with serious injuries.
A Saskatoon couple says they felt ignored by police after their five-year-old foster son was attacked by a dog outside the Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the city will more than likely continue to follow Health Canada guidelines when it comes to asbestos cement pipes (ACP) that carry drinking water to residents’ homes.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
The 22-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenager at a Toronto subway station Saturday night has been wanted in Newfoundland for almost two years, CTV News Toronto has learned.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A Toronto man is wanted for a Fbbruary incident allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, taking her phone and using it for extortion, and sexually assaulting her again.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
One person is dead after an early morning fire in Kanata, while another person is being treated for smoke inhalation after being rescued from the burning home by a bystander who spotted the fire while driving to the gym.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend's daughter nearly a decade ago, when the girl would have been just eight years old.
A Victoria landlord and property management company must pay more than $30,000 in damages and rental reduction to a tenant who complained of exposure to asbestos and excessive noise while their apartment building was renovated.
British Columbia wants a federal government clamp down on prescription rules after thousands of doses of the hyped weight-loss drug Ozempic went to Americans, doled out by a single practitioner in Nova Scotia.
A nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta, Feb. 7, 2018. Canada's chief public health officer says more children are being hospitalized this flu season because of an early spike in a strain of influenza B, which hits young people hard and is circulating across the country while a strain that typically targets the elderly also makes the rounds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, David Goldman
