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B.C. health officials are urging residents to take precautions as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections rise in the province.
“It’s not too late to get the seasonal influenza vaccine,” Dr. Jennifer Vines, interim medical director for public health response at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said on Friday.
The latest update from the B.C. CDC says influenza and RSV activity increased in the last week of 2024. It says COVID activity was stable, but showing early signs of an increase heading into the new year.
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“Everybody should be strongly considering staying home from work or school if they’re sick, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands and doing all of those sort of preventive measures that we’re all very familiar with,” said Vines.
“Some of these illnesses are nasty. People feel terrible. So if you’re listening to your body, chances are your body is telling you to stay home and rest.”
There are some early signs that RSV might be at its peak, but Vines said caregivers should remain vigilant about high fevers, especially in young children.
“A lot of the numbers are similar to past seasons. There’s no alarm bells about this particular season, but we are seeing a lot of illness at the moment,” she added.
Health officials say most healthy children and adults can recover from respiratory illness at home with rest and over-the-counter medicine.
The best line of defence for people in high-risk groups, such as elderly people with underlying medical conditions, young children, and pregnant people are vaccinations, said Vines.
“Most healthy children recover at home with supportive care but things for parents to watch for would be a persistent fever, any trouble breathing, or if your child just looks worse to you,” she said.
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“Young children in particular can get very tired and not interested in things. So I would urge parents to watch their children closely, and if they have concerns to call their personal health-care provider.”
The Centre for Disease Control says B.C. has one of the worst flu rates in Canada. But the province has one of the lowest COVID-19 test positivity rates in the country, at about half the national rate.
About 13.5 per cent of samples tested last week were positive for influenza, with influenza A almost entirely responsible. That’s the second-highest rate across the nation, according to Health Canada.
RSV positivity rates — the per cent of samples from suspected cases that test positive — are also elevated in B.C. at 11.9 per cent, compared to the national rate of 10.7 per cent, while the COVID-19 positivity rate is 4.7 per cent, compared to the national 9.2 per cent rate.
On Thursday, health officials said medical masks are once again required in B.C. health-care facilities as cases of respiratory illness rise.
A statement from B.C.’s Health Ministry said workers, volunteers and visitors in facilities operated by provincial health authorities must wear masks in areas where patients are receiving care in order to prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and COVID-19.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
With files from The Canadian Press
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