B.C. records 5 influenza deaths in children in November as doctors warn of surging cases | 24CA News
B.C. recorded 5 influenza-related deaths in kids in November, a marked enhance from earlier years.
Data offered by the B.C. Coroners Service confirmed that between 2015 and 2019, B.C. recorded two to 3 influenza-related deaths in folks aged 18 or youthful. In 2020, the province recorded one dying, whereas none have been recorded in 2021.
The B.C. Coroners Service mentioned the information displays investigations the place influenza was recognized as “either the immediate, antecedent or underlying cause of death or as a significant condition.”
None of the deaths have been recorded in infants youthful than one.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a household doctor in Vancouver, mentioned medical doctors within the province are “hearing reports of children dying at a higher rate than what we are used to seeing in a typical flu season.”
“That is the hardest part of this at the moment. This is March 2020 for kids. We’re seeing hospitals under strain. We’re seeing cases rising,
“The influenza season began weeks sooner than it usually does and is rising at a major price — the curve is sort of vertical.”
Estimates of the number of annual flu deaths in Canada vary depending on the severity of the flu season, but doctors, including Wolak, have warned this year appears to be particularly severe. Children, especially young children, are at a higher risk of severe outcomes.
‘Dramatic increase’ in influenza A
The warnings from doctors come as wait times at emergency rooms across the province have continued to climb. Over the weekend, the estimated wait time to see a doctor at B.C. Children’s Hospital was reported to be over 10 hours.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said visits to provincial emergency rooms had been averaging 6,700 per day, but that is now up to 6,900 patients daily, with extra pressure on B.C. Children’s and Fraser Health hospitals.
Dix said he couldn’t comment on the individual cases but said he believed at least two of the cases involved teenagers.
“This is totally devastating for everybody within the health-care system and clearly and most significantly for the households concerned,” he said.
“It reveals the numerous risks the flu can have for a lot of kids. It could be comparatively delicate [but] for some it may be basically troublesome, for individuals who are in vital care and those that go away.”
On Monday, well being officers in B.C. urged dad and mom to have kids vaccinated, citing a “dramatic enhance” in cases of influenza A, a strain which can cause severe illness in children.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said that as of Monday, rates of the common cold and RSV had levelled off compared to the steady rise of influenza.
Ontario recorded one child death from influenza in late November.
Paul Roumeliotis, a pediatrician and the medical officer of health for Ontario’s Eastern Health Unit, said Ontario is also experiencing an “unprecedented quantity of youngsters, significantly below 17 years of age, going into the emergency room and truly being admitted to hospital.”
