CHEO sees sharp increase in flu cases in December

Flu cases continue to climb in the capital, and as CTV’s Austin Lee reports, CHEO says it is seeing unprecedented volumes of children with influenza.

Ottawa’s schools are seeing a rise in student absences due to illnesses and the children’s hospital is reporting 44 times more children testing positive for flu, as influenza continues to circulate in the community ahead of the hospital season.

CHEO says there have been 569 positive flu tests at the hospital so far in December, compared to 13 flu cases during the same period in 2024.

“Total tests is 44x higher compared to the same period last year, but we’ve seen a slight drop in the number of patients admitted to hospital with the flu over the past week,” CHEO said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

Twenty patients have been admitted to CHEO with the flu as of Wednesday, down from 23 patients admitted with the flu last week.

Earlier this week, health units reported three children between the ages of five and nine died of complications related to the flu in the Ottawa area during the first two weeks of December.

Officials are “strongly recommending” everyone aged six months and older get their flu vaccine as “soon as possible,” according to the health unit.

“This is a stark reminder that the flu can lead to severe illness and complications that require hospital care,” said the statement from Ottawa Public Health and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit on Monday.

Student absences

Ottawa Public Health says data from Ottawa school boards show “student absences due to illness have been rising” over the past eight weeks.

“The student absences rate due to illness during the week of December 12 for both school boards combined was 8.0 per cent across elementary and secondary schools,” the health unit said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“Last year, the peak of absences due to illness was at the end of January and was 4.4 per cent. Schools are currently reporting absence rates nearly double the peak of last season.”

The health unit could not disclose which boards the data is from.

Influenza in Ottawa

The Ottawa Public Health respiratory dashboard said influenza activity is rising in Ottawa. The health unit reported the wastewater surveillance shows influenza levels have been ”very high and increasing since last week.”

Last week, CHEO president and CEO Dr. Vera Etches said “the early and intense start to flu season” has led to “unprecedented volumes” in the hospital’s emergency department. In a letter to physicians, Etches asked local physicians to work in the CHEO’s Kids Come First Care Clinic or “prioritize after hours and urgent appointments” at their clinics for children with respiratory symptoms.

“These numbers have stretched capacity to the limit, with staff relying on overflow spaces to safely care for young patients,” Etches said in the letter, provided to CTV News Ottawa.