The True Post (Web News) The H3N2 flu virus is spreading rapidly in the United States and is sending a large number of people to the hospital.
While health experts have warned that conditions have become very favorable for the spread of the virus in Canada as well. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 7.5 million Americans** have been infected so far this flu season and 81,000* people have had to be hospitalized.
According to the data, one in every four flu tests conducted in the US in the week ending December 20 came back positive, which is a significant increase compared to previous weeks. More than 19,000 people were hospitalized due to flu in the same week, while five children were confirmed to have died due to flu-related complications.
Dr. Fahad Razak, a physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a professor at the University of Toronto, says that the rate of hospitalization due to flu has reached record levels in some parts of the US. According to him, the situation in Canada is also worrying and the available data indicates that the country is facing a severe flu season. According to experts, the dominant type of flu in the United States and Canada this year is H3N2 subclade K. Dr. Razak warned that the large number of people traveling between the two countries during the holidays has created an “ideal environment” for the spread of the flu.
He said that the border between the United States and Canada is such that if the rate of infectious disease is high on one side, it becomes almost impossible to prevent it from spreading to the other. Flu cases are also increasing rapidly in Canada. According to the latest data from Health Canada, the rate of hospitalization due to flu has almost doubled compared to the previous week, while the infection rate has been recorded as high as 30%. In the week ending December 13, 11,646 new flu cases were reported across the country, which accounts for 27.7% of all tests conducted.
Experts say that as more people are being infected, the number of people becoming seriously ill and reaching the hospital is also increasing. Dr. Razak especially urged parents that as children are going back to school after the holidays, this is the best time to get yourself and your children vaccinated. He said that if the child has not yet been vaccinated, it may be the best decision to get vaccinated today. Health Canada’s next detailed report on the flu, which will include data from the Christmas period, will be released next week.