she said holidays can be a time for illness to spread as people get together with friends, family, and loved ones, usually indoors, and could lead to a spike in illnesses.
for the flu, “we tend to see peaks after the holiday period in late december and early january so now is the time for preventive measures to try to stop that peak,” said henry.
the vast majority of cases have involved the h1n1 strain, an influenza a subtype, which tends to cause more severe illness in younger people. the strain matches very closely to the strain used to make this season’s flu vaccine, meaning a flu shot would be very effective, she said.
but there are also many other viruses that cause cold-like symptoms that are widely circulating right now, said henry, including rsv — which has been on the rise in the fraser health and vancouver coastal health regions.
“the test positivity is high among children and we know that rsv has a particular impact each year among very young children,” especially those who are getting it for the first time, said henry.
the plethora of respiratory illnesses has led to an overcall increase in visits to primary care doctors and emergency visits for both adults and kids.
health minister adrian dix said one reason to get vaccinated is to reduce the risk of hospitalization at a time when there is record demand for hospital beds and health-care services in the province.