With both cases of COVID-19 and influenza expected to rise this fall and winter, some experts say figuring out which illness is which could be challenging.
While Canada has gone through its own summer wave of COVID-19, data shows the number of people in hospital has levelled off in recent weeks and the number of people in intensive care has not spiked to the levels seen in previous waves, as of Aug. 15.
With pandemic restrictions largely lifted across provinces, more people are expected to spend additional time indoors this fall as the weather cools. Given this, doctors predict a rise in COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses.
Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of Alberta, said the situation in Australia — where a resurgent flu season combined with COVID-19 has overwhelmed hospitals — could also play out in Canada.
"I think the big question that I don't know if any of us can answer is, 'Will we see the emergence of any newer variants?' And I think that's still a little up in the air," Smith told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Symptoms for COVID-19 have remained mostly consistent, even with the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant, although there are some differences.
Cases will vary from person to person, but the more commonly reported symptoms, Health Canada says, still include sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, diarrhea and vomiting, and loss of taste or smell.
Evidence has emerged since the World Health Organization designated Omicron as a variant of concern in November 2021 that the severity of infection tends to be milder compared to previous variants.
An observational study out of the U.K., published in April, also found those who were vaccinated and contracted Omicron experienced symptoms that were usually less severe and lasted for a shorter amount of time compared to patients with the Delta variant.
Smith said while this may be due to the inherent properties of the Omicron variant, she believes it is more likely because much of the population has either natural immunity from a previous infection, partial immunity from vaccination, or a combination of both.
However, one symptom in particular that appears to be less common in Omicron compared to Delta is the loss of taste or smell.
"I think in some ways it makes it more difficult to distinguish between Omicron and other viral respiratory illnesses," said Smith, who also serves as director of hospital infection prevention and control at the University of Alberta Hospital and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.
She added that COVID-19 patients have had certain gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea and nausea, which tend to be less common with influenza or other respiratory viruses.
Even though hospitalizations generally have levelled off in Canada in recent weeks, data shows the numbers are still near the heights seen in previous waves.
"We haven't come down off the Omicron wave entirely and my expectation is that we'll continue to see people being admitted, and we'll probably have a bit of a blip in the fall when people are inside and kids are back to school," she said.
"We'll just see an increase in transmission eventually that will trickle down to people that are vulnerable and end up in hospital."
On May 29, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron made up a little more than 10 per cent of all variants in Canada. By July 31, that figure grew to more than 97 per cent.
Although provincial governments have limited COVID-19 testing in recent months, Smith said the testing that is available, along with wastewater sampling, has pointed to the same conclusion that Omicron has outcompeted older strains of the virus.
The predominance of Omicron is also apparent in the recent "de-escalation" of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants as variants of concern by Health Canada.
As of Aug. 18, Health Canada "de-escalated" the four, with Omicron currently the only one listed as a variant of concern in the country.
"The reality is that we've seen COVID evolve and the newer variants that we're seeing in circulation now just have such a huge advantage as far as ability to spread," Smith said.
Smith said figuring out how to manage and live with the virus highlights the importance of staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations, including getting a booster if able, as well as a flu shot.
With files from CTV News and Reuters
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