Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
The latest FluWatch report confirms what experts have been warning could happen as an early rise in influenza cases spreads across Canada: we’re now officially in the midst of a flu epidemic.
“At the national level, influenza activity has crossed the seasonal threshold, indicating the start of an influenza epidemic. All surveillance indicators are increasing and most are above-expected levels typical of this time of year,” the report said.
The latest numbers from Canada’s national surveillance system, which tracks the spread of influenza and influenza-like illnesses, reports an 11.7% positivity rate in Canada in the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, an increase from 6.3 per cent reported in the two weeks before— thereby crossing the threshold of 5% positivity over that period and putting Canada into flu epidemic territory.
Across Canada, the percentage of hospital visits by patients with flu-like symptoms has been above the seasonal average, along with those reporting cough and fever as symptoms. The FluWatch report for the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, showed there were 78 hospitalizations cases related to Influenza.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), meanwhile, is reporting a rising number of cases in much of the country.
Emergency departments and hospitals have been battling the huge influx of patients, with many being treated in hallways. Dr. Rose Zacharias, president of the Ontario Medical Association, told CTV's Your Morning last week, that “this is the first year since the pandemic began that we're heading into a normal flu season.”
“Coupled with the COVID-19 virus still circulating and RSV, which is another common childhood virus that comes around this time of year, we're seeing that increased strain, and the emergency departments and healthcare teams still dealing with burnout," Zacharias added.
Children's hospitals, in particular, have been strained by the new surge of young patients with viral infections. Half of the flu (51 per cent) illnesses have been reported in children aged two to four years and 10 to 16 years, according to the report. To date, between Aug. 28, 2022 and Nov. 5, 2022), 133 pediatric influenza-associated hospitalizations and 17 ICU admissions have been reported.
According to the U.S. CDC, most children catch a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before they turn two and it is typically a mild illness. But in some cases, it can have severe outcomes, leading to difficulty in breathing, dehydration, and other serious illnesses such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
Currently, Canada’s healthcare system is grappling to find medications for respiratory illnesses which have been on the rise. The overall activity of several viruses is above expected levels, according to the weekly respiratory virus report for the week ending Nov. 5, 2022. The data looks at the number of detections of only seasonal human coronaviruses and not the novel pandemic coronavirus.
The rise in flu cases is also straining U.S. hospitals.
An increased number of flu cases have hit the U.S. weeks earlier than usual. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that about half of the country —25 states— reported high or very high respiratory illness activity. In an interview with ABC News, Dr. Frank Belmonte from the Advocate Children's Hospital in Chicago, said, “This is our March of 2020. So, this is the pediatric version of the beginning of the pandemic."
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada Goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.