Calgary records first death due to Alberta flu as virus arrives early

This comes one year after the 2017-2018 influenza season saw an increase in the number of flu-related deaths, to 92%, compared to 64% the previous season.

Of the two influenza strains reported by AHS in these reports, 922 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A were reported in Calgary, including 184 in Edmonton. In the meantime, 10 of the 13 cases of influenza B confirmed to date are from Calgary.

However, David Strong, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Calgary area, explained that the arrival of the virus in the city was at the root of the number of new cases that occurred in Edmonton, but that the Alberta's capital would probably catch up with the season is over.

"It's an imported disease. The virus is circulating around the world, "Strong said.

"Basically, it's a person who travels, who contracts the virus and brings it back, and many people who usually start to … cause an epidemic."

Craig Jenne, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary, speculated that the higher number of influenza cases recorded in Calgary came from health facilities in the city during the campaign vaccination.

"Often, the flu will arrive a little later and we will vaccinate more people before arriving here," said Jenne. "We are in a situation where the virus probably arrives before we have optimal protection."

Jenne said he has confidence in the strength of Alberta's flu shots this year. Jenne said the vaccine in recent years was sometimes poorly matched to the strain in the province, but he added that information from other countries such as Australia, which has suffered this influenza strain, may confirm the effectiveness of this vaccine. vaccine of the year.

But Jenne feared that few Calgarians would be vaccinated against the flu.

"The last figures I've seen, we are not yet very close to the number of vaccinations we had last year," Jenne said.

"I think people get vaccinated, but they do it very slowly. If we take advantage of the clinics when they open, a larger number of the population will be protected before the arrival of the flu. "

Strong said the Alberta Health Services targets for Calgary's vaccination rate this year were 30%. AHS has still not reached this level with 388,318 doses administered in the city since the beginning of the season.

Different strains of flu work according to different timelines as to how quickly they spread across the province, but Jenne and Strong were reluctant to label the Calgary anomaly. Both warned that it will take longer to get an idea of ​​how tough the season is.

Public flu vaccination clinics are still open at the South Calgary Health Center, Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Center in southwest Calgary, Northgate Shopping Center and Brentwood Village Mall.

Andrew Jeffrey is a journalist / photographer for StarMetro Calgary. Follow him on Twitter: @andrew_jeffrey