explosion of influenza The largest children’s hospital in the Maritimes continues to be overwhelmed by cases.
a top doctor with IWK The health center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, says the early start, along with the severity of cases, could mean a busy holiday season, especially if actions are not taken to cut the spread.
Dr. Andrew Link is Chairman and Chief of Pediatrics at IWK. They say an unprecedented number of children are being seen in hospital with respiratory infections such as fever and respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) because they were not exposed during the epidemic. Along with common cold, COVID-19 is still doing the rounds.
Nova Scotia sees big rise in flu cases, doctors call it an ‘epidemic’
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“So we’re getting stigmatized because a lot of kids under the age of five haven’t seen flu, haven’t seen RSV,” Linc says.
“So in addition to the general youth under a year or two who may have never seen it because they weren’t born, you have the older group that hasn’t seen it. So it’s in terms of volume and the number of kids that Double whammy that is getting quite sick.
A new report from the province shows flu cases continue to rise in most age groups.
has released its latest respiratory clock The report, which shows that 673 new influenza cases were identified between November 27 and December 3.
The one exception is people aged five to 19, with that age group seeing a decline from 166 to 146 compared to the previous report. There are likely to be many more.
According to the link, IWK’s emergency room is seeing a steady stream of visits from sick children and their parents.
Jordan Campbell went there on Friday with his son, who had been ill for several days. He was expecting a long wait but says his boy was treated fairly quickly given the high demand.
“The wait was surprisingly good,” he says. “It was a total of three hours from the time we were admitted till we came back from the hospital. Very good. It was better than I would have thought, based on what I’ve seen and heard.
His son is in primary school. He says his high-school-age daughter also caught the bug, but is now recovering after missing three days of school.
If you have infants in the home, Lync recommends taking the children out of daycare to help reduce the spread.
“I’ll be taking my little ones out of daycare for the next few weeks to give those kids a rest so they don’t pick up on what’s going on now, or at least give myself a chance to vaccinate everyone, says Link.
He would also like to see mandatory masking brought back into schools before the holidays.
“If I could wave a magic wand, and unfortunately I can’t, but if I could, I would love for everyone in schools to be masked for the next few weeks,” Linc says. “My personal feeling is that it will make a difference.”
In a statement, the Department of Health and Welfare says it has nothing new to add in response to the recommendations of the link.
The department encourages vaccination to help reduce the risk of serious illness and disease.
The department says, ‘At this time we have nothing further to add.’ “We would like to remind Nova Scotians that being up to date on vaccines is the best way to prevent or reduce the risk of serious illness and protect your friends, family and communities. Nova Scotians should continue to take steps to protect themselves and loved ones from the spread of respiratory illness.
The department also says Nova Scotians are advised to wear a mask to protect themselves and others when in crowded, indoor spaces or when feeling sick.
During a press conference in late November, Dr. Robert Strong, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the tools used to stop the spread of COVID-19 are being used to help get a grip on a new and more severe virus. were deployed. He explained that those tools were not necessary for the flu when discussing the early start of the season.
Strang said at the time, “I have discussed the masking mandate with this team and we are in firm agreement that the masking mandate will not be necessary or effective at this time.” “However, we will continue to monitor our position and will certainly change our position if it is felt necessary.”
Doctor. A letter from Stang was mailed home to the students’ families on Monday. He recommended, given the rise in respiratory viruses, make sure families get vaccinated. He also advised staying at home when sick and wearing a mask when feeling unwell in public places.
As per the report of Respiratory Watch, there have been 15 deaths so far this season where people have tested positive for influenza.
The report says that influenza may or may not be the leading cause of death or hospitalization.
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