Kingston Public Health says confirmed flu cases only the ‘tip of the iceberg’

There’s been a spike in the number of flu cases across the country and experts say the worst is still to come because there are two strains making the rounds this year, Influenza A and Influenza B.

“The circulation of Influenza B is not huge, it represents about 20 per cent of our cases,” KFL&A Public Health’s manager of infectious disease prevention, Adrienne Hansen-Taugher, said.

She added that typically, Influenza A is much more difficult to experience than Influenza B.

“It certainly feels terrible to have true influenza,” Hansen-Taugher said. “You’ve got the body aches, the chills, the cough and the fever. You’re under the weather for quite a while.”

Locally, the KFL&A Public Health Unit says the 44 confirmed cases reported since September is on par with most years.

However, Hansen-Taugher is quick to caution that the 44 local cases could be just the tip of the iceberg, as only the cases in which patients seek medical treatment are counted. Those who tough it out are not counted.