Influenza in Alberta: Edmontonian aged 10-19 dies of flu

One more Albertan died from influenza this week according to the latest data, while newly reported cases remained low with 42.

The death brings this flu season's death toll to 116.

In-hospital deaths as well as deaths in community settings reported by first responders are included in that number, while data for seasons prior to 2021-2022 only include hospital deaths.

The person who died this week was an Edmontonian between the ages of 10 and 19.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

This influenza season, 2,036 Albertans have required hospital care. There were nine 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 760, followed by the Edmonton zone’s 576.

Of the nine new admissions between Feb. 19 and Feb. 25, 44 per cent were 39 or younger. Two of the admissions were children between the ages of one and four.

To date, 210 people have required intensive care. No new patients were admitted in this update.

The majority of ICU patients this season have also been in the Calgary zone.

CASES

Alberta reported 42 new infections on Thursday, a slight decrease from the week prior. New case numbers have stayed below 100 for seven consecutive weeks.

According to Alberta Health data, this season has the second-highest number of cases in 14 seasons, with 8,895 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, totalling 2,987 so far.

The Edmonton zone has the second-highest number of cases in Alberta, with 2,581.

The Central zone has had 1,059 cases; the North zone has reported 1,581 cases, while the South zone has counted 681. Six cases have not been assigned a zone.

Influenza A has made up 98.6 per cent of this season’s laboratory-confirmed cases.

OUTBREAKS AND VACCINATIONS

There have been a total of 98 outbreaks in Alberta this season. Fifty-five per cent have been at supportive-living and home-living sites. There were no new outbreaks in this update.

More than 1.3 million influenza vaccines have been administered since Oct. 17, translating to 27.5 per cent of Albertans being immunized. There are also 64,541 more people vaccinated compared to this time last year.

Of Albertans aged 65 or older, 63.7 per cent have been vaccinated for influenza, while 28.5 per cent of children between six months and four years have their vaccine.

Alberta updates its influenza data on Thursdays.