No new child flu deaths, infection rates falling in all age groups, B.C.’s top doctor says

B.C.’s provincial health officer had some good news Friday about the province’s respiratory season.

Speaking at a briefing with Health Minister Adrian Dix, Dr. Bonnie Henry said influenza infections in all age groups have declined.

“This has been a very unusual year so it’s important to recognize we can’t necessarily compare this season to previous seasons,” Henry said.

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Due to the health and safety measures that were in place at the beginning of the pandemic, including travel restrictions and social distancing, there was an entire cohort of children who were never exposed to influenza, she added. Therefore, the risk of them becoming sicker this year was always a concern.

“Influenza A H3N2 the one that’s been causing the most illness and the one that’s thankfully, decreasing,” Henry added.

“That is the strain of influenza that we see that most likely causes severe illness, particularly in children who have never been exposed to it before and in older people.”

Henry said health officials are keeping a close eye on Influenza B, which may still be a concern in the coming months.

A special focus has been placed on children becoming severely ill after doctors at BC Children’s Hospital “raised the alarm that they were hearing about very severe illness and deaths in children in early December,” Henry said.

There have been no additional children who have died that were linked to influenza, she said.

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) rates continue to stay high, which is where infection rates are expected at this time of year, Henry said.

COVID-19 infection rates have remained “relatively stable for the past few months,” Henry added.

There are now 24 confirmed cases of XBB 1.5 cases in the province. This subvariant is also known by the unofficial name “Kraken.”

Most of the COVID strains in B.C. right now is XBB 1.1, Henry said. Both of these strains are a subvariant of Omicron.

This update comes as the number of patients with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals fell this week to its lowest point since early November, as province-wide test positivity held steady.

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As of Jan.12, there were 302 cases in hospital, down from 352 the week prior. The number of cases in critical care remained unchanged at 25.

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The province’s hospitalization model counts all cases in hospitals, regardless of the patient’s initial reason for admission.

-with files from Simon Little