Public health officials in the London region say the surge of influenza cases has come early this season. And much like the situation across the country, infection, and hospitalization rates are going up rapidly. London Pharmacist, Scott Coulter, of Coulter’s Pharmacy on Dundas Street East in London, said vaccines started out busy this year before tapering off. He expects it may be about to get busy again as flu cases spike. “People are responding to the news, no doubt about that. They’re responding to the fact that their friends and loved ones are getting very sick with the flu as well,” said Coulter. According to the Middlesex London Health Unit, there were 159 cases of influenza-A and one case of influenza-B from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, the most recent data available. The total number of cases was 486 (since August). There were 39 new hospitalizations during the first week of December. The positivity rate was nearly 30 per cent of patients tested. Dr. Andrew Lam, MLHU Senior Public Health Resident, said the health unit is closely monitoring the early trends. “We’re starting to see an earlier rise in the number of influenza cases, compared to last year for example,” Lam said. “So, we’re having increase in cases week after week. We’ve been noticing this for the last several weeks now.” Dr. Rod Lim, Medical Director, Children’s Emergency Department at LHSC, said children are often affected first when the flu is going around. He said this year is no different, and it’s putting a strain on the children’s emerg. “We’ve seen up to almost 200 patients in a day, mostly with flu-like symptoms. So, we’ve definitely felt the impact of the flu this year, like we do it every year,” explained Lim. Lim added that those most vulnerable at LHSC include patients being treated for serious illness or the hospital’s elderly patients. For this reason, LHSC is strongly encouraging people to wear a mask in clinical areas. The situation is essentially the same in neighbouring Oxford and Elgin counties where public health officials are warning of a very high influenza risk. SWPH Infectious Disease Manager Joanne Andrews said congregate settings are currently being affected. “And we’re seeing that impact not only hospitalizations but also outbreaks in our long-term care homes and retirement homes,” she said. “So right now in Southwestern Public Health region we have five facilities that have an Influenza-A outbreak.” Health officials said they expect flu season to peak by late December, possibly right in the middle of the holiday season. “We anticipate this to continue for a few more weeks as we enter a peak of influenza activity,” said Lam. Coulter said it’s not too late to get your shot. “We hope to see as many people vaccinated as possible, we’re certainly prepared if that happens,” Coulter said.
