Tweet
Translation Google
The flu is on the rise
What is the influenza B getting into, which rears its head again just when the birds are starting to sing again between three snowflakes? Because yes, there is a resurgence of the flu, the influenza seems to have lost all sense of the seasons.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Louise Leduc
LA PRESSE
The latest data from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec bear witness to this, says Dr. Gaston De Serres, who is a doctor-epidemiologist there. There is indeed a rise in cases which is “relatively slow”, but of which we do not know how high it will go.
It is in Montreal (7.09%), in the Laurentians (5.96%) and in Laval (4.86%) that the percentage of positive cases of influenza B reported by the laboratories is the highest, according to the most recent data. Oddly, Montérégie is mostly affected by influenza A (8.31%).
Aren't we getting to that time of year when you might think flu season is pretty much behind us? Yes, usually, in the spring, things calm down, answers Dr. Donald Vinh, infectious disease specialist and microbiologist at the McGill University Health Center.
But since the pandemic, viruses have behaved much more erratically. It is enough to remember how the flu presented itself exceptionally early last fall, continues Dr. Vinh , who does not exclude that we are even currently "at the beginning of a new flu season ".
In general, “for two and a half years, we have had very little exposure to the flu virus and our herd immunity is low [in recent years],” says Dr. Vinh .
It has nothing to do with us isolating ourselves from others and having less chance of getting sick. Nor can it be explained by the vaccines against COVID, which would have had the effect of weakening us.
Without understanding why for the moment, notes Dr. Vinh , COVID, during the first years of the pandemic, “made all the other viruses disappear” and our system has somehow become unaccustomed to it. The flu is not a trivial disease and people who have health problems should be wary of it.
Two good news despite everything
The first good news, however, is that the B strain, which is currently on the rise, is less likely to develop new strains quickly than influenza A (which is the most prevalent these days in the United States).
The other good news is that flu shots are considered quite effective this year. For influenza A, explains Dr. Gaston De Serres, “the effectiveness is 50%. For influenza B, we don't know yet, but it's probably of the same order”.
In Alberta, Radio-Canada has just reported, the flu season – still ongoing there too – is shaping up to be one of the worst in history, with the province having recorded 117 deaths from influenza. . (Figures for Quebec are not yet available.)
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been 26 million cases of the flu since the start of the season. Of this number, 290,000 infected people had to be hospitalized and 18,000 people died.
Apart from the flu, are there other infections to be feared these days? Drs Vinh and De Serres observe that the existing data do not allow us to say this.
In addition to the vaccine that Health Canada considers to be the most effective precaution against influenza, it is recommended, as with COVID, to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if you have not washed your hands. , and to wash them frequently, at least 20 seconds with hot water and soap.
The flu is on the rise
What is the influenza B getting into, which rears its head again just when the birds are starting to sing again between three snowflakes? Because yes, there is a resurgence of the flu, the influenza seems to have lost all sense of the seasons.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Louise Leduc
LA PRESSE
The latest data from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec bear witness to this, says Dr. Gaston De Serres, who is a doctor-epidemiologist there. There is indeed a rise in cases which is “relatively slow”, but of which we do not know how high it will go.
It is in Montreal (7.09%), in the Laurentians (5.96%) and in Laval (4.86%) that the percentage of positive cases of influenza B reported by the laboratories is the highest, according to the most recent data. Oddly, Montérégie is mostly affected by influenza A (8.31%).
Aren't we getting to that time of year when you might think flu season is pretty much behind us? Yes, usually, in the spring, things calm down, answers Dr. Donald Vinh, infectious disease specialist and microbiologist at the McGill University Health Center.
But since the pandemic, viruses have behaved much more erratically. It is enough to remember how the flu presented itself exceptionally early last fall, continues Dr. Vinh , who does not exclude that we are even currently "at the beginning of a new flu season ".
In general, “for two and a half years, we have had very little exposure to the flu virus and our herd immunity is low [in recent years],” says Dr. Vinh .
It has nothing to do with us isolating ourselves from others and having less chance of getting sick. Nor can it be explained by the vaccines against COVID, which would have had the effect of weakening us.
Without understanding why for the moment, notes Dr. Vinh , COVID, during the first years of the pandemic, “made all the other viruses disappear” and our system has somehow become unaccustomed to it. The flu is not a trivial disease and people who have health problems should be wary of it.
Two good news despite everything
The first good news, however, is that the B strain, which is currently on the rise, is less likely to develop new strains quickly than influenza A (which is the most prevalent these days in the United States).
The other good news is that flu shots are considered quite effective this year. For influenza A, explains Dr. Gaston De Serres, “the effectiveness is 50%. For influenza B, we don't know yet, but it's probably of the same order”.
In Alberta, Radio-Canada has just reported, the flu season – still ongoing there too – is shaping up to be one of the worst in history, with the province having recorded 117 deaths from influenza. . (Figures for Quebec are not yet available.)
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been 26 million cases of the flu since the start of the season. Of this number, 290,000 infected people had to be hospitalized and 18,000 people died.
Apart from the flu, are there other infections to be feared these days? Drs Vinh and De Serres observe that the existing data do not allow us to say this.
In addition to the vaccine that Health Canada considers to be the most effective precaution against influenza, it is recommended, as with COVID, to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if you have not washed your hands. , and to wash them frequently, at least 20 seconds with hot water and soap.
