With 175 new lab-confirmed cases of influenza reported by the province for the week ending February 1st, it appears it is the start of the end of the current flu season. Since the beginning of September, there have been 1,547 lab-confirmed cases. Of those, 25 have required admission to ICU. The flu is also being cited as a cause of 11 deaths in the province.

The province’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, explained the peak of the flu season was at the beginning of the year, which isn’t all that different than years past.

“Some years, the flu season starts early like last year, and some years, it started late like it hasn’t peaked until the end of January, early February,” Dr. Shahab elaborated.

This year, though, there is one factor which is normally not seen during flu season, and that is the early spread of B-strain influenza, compared to A-strain.

“We usually see B-strains going around as a second wave towards February, March after A has settled down,” Shahab explained. “This year, B was going around at the same time as A, so that’s really quite unusual.”

Compared to the 2018-19 flu season, the number of cases is down substantially for this time of year. Last year, there had been 2,141 lab-confirmed cases through the first days of February, with 58 ICU admissions, and 10 deaths across the province. 

The province releases updated numbers as part of their weekly influenza surveillance report every Thursday.