Influenza in Alberta: Cases continue to decline, 3 new deaths added
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.
Alberta updates its influenza data on Thursdays.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.