Mij
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Alarm bells abroad, spread of new form of H3N2 provide warning as influenza cases start ticking up
With flu cases now rising in Canada, medical experts are bracing for a difficult influenza season linked to the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain that could be a mismatch for this year’s vaccine.
New federal data out Friday shows roughly two per cent of country-wide tests came back positive for influenza in the previous week. That’s still shy of the five per cent bar for Canada to declare a seasonal flu epidemic, but it’s a noticeable uptick from a few weeks before.
The ongoing flu season abroad has been marked by record case counts in the Southern Hemisphere, and an early start to the season across parts of Asia and the U.K. As Canada heads into the winter, it could be a bellwether of what’s to come.
With flu cases now rising in Canada, medical experts are bracing for a difficult influenza season linked to the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain that could be a mismatch for this year’s vaccine.
New federal data out Friday shows roughly two per cent of country-wide tests came back positive for influenza in the previous week. That’s still shy of the five per cent bar for Canada to declare a seasonal flu epidemic, but it’s a noticeable uptick from a few weeks before.
The ongoing flu season abroad has been marked by record case counts in the Southern Hemisphere, and an early start to the season across parts of Asia and the U.K. As Canada heads into the winter, it could be a bellwether of what’s to come.
