Confirmed flu cases reach all-season high: nationwide data

A pedestrian walks alongside businesses on a rainy day while wearing a protective mask in Toronto on Friday, June 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Positivity rates for influenza testing reached 21.2 per cent last week, an all-season high that surpassed the 2023-24 flu season’s peak of 18.7 per cent, national data shows.

Last updated Friday, the federal government’s Health Infobase dashboard counted 8,586 detections for influenza in the week of Feb. 1, most concentrated among Canadians aged 65 or older. Positivity rates have been rising, with nearly 95 per cent of cases detected as influenza A, the dominant subtype for the season.

A total of 63 new outbreaks linked to influenza have been recorded, according to the database, with a weekly hospitalization rate of 2.4 per 100,000 population. Both metrics, Infobase notes, have been “generally stable” in recent weeks.

As of the latest data, flu activity was considered “widespread” in the Toronto area, B.C.‘s Vancouver Island, Vancouver Coastal and Fraser regions and western and central Quebec, as well as the region of Québec et Chaudieres-Appalaches.

Later peak this season

The 2024-25 influenza season has thus far shown a later peak than in recent years.

Infobase data shows that the highest positive rates among last year’s influenza testing came in the week of Dec. 28, and another year earlier, the 2022-23 season peaked in the week of Nov. 23, with a positivity high of 24.3 per cent.

You can view more data on respiratory illness in Canada at CTVNews.ca’s tracker.