Canada is over the peak of flu season: FluWatch report

What's behind the cold and flu medicine shortage? Canadian Pharmacists Association's Danielle Paes details Canada's cold and flu medicine shortage and alternative to treat a viral infection.

Canada's flu season is officially winding down, according to the first national FluWatch report of 2023, which was released Friday.

FluWatch is the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) national flu surveillance system. It monitors the spread of flu and flu-like illnesses and releases reports every Friday during active influenza season.

While flu continues to circulate, the latest report by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says the rate of spread has "declined sharply from the peak that occurred in week 47 (end of November) and is now below expected pre-pandemic levels."

The agency recorded a total of 1,749 laboratory detections – including 1,721 of influenza A and 28 influenza B for the week of Jan. 1 to 7. By way of comparison, PHAC reported 8,242 laboratory detections at the height of flu season, during the week of Nov. 20 to Nov. 26. Of those, 8,226 were influenza A and 16 were influenza B.

In fact, PHAC reports medical visits for flu-like illness last week were slightly below the typical level for this time of year, accounting for 1.7 per cent of visits. The number of people reporting symptoms of cough and fever to FluWatch was also below the seasonal level.

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Hospitalizations have significantly decreased as well. Canada reached its peak number of pediatric flu hospitalizations during the week of Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, when 247 hospitalizations were reported. In its latest FluWatch report, PHAC says there were 30 hospitalizations the week of Jan. 1 to 7.

This latest flu season began on Aug. 28 and was an especially challenging one for children and seniors. As of Jan. 7, a total of 3,690 flu-associated hospitalizations, 311 ICU admissions and 218 deaths had been reported in Canada. 1,534 of those were among children. As of Jan. 7, 120 out of every 100,000 adults 65 and over had been hospitalized due to influenza or a flu-like illness.