Expert says lack of reporting on RSV cases in long-term care homes a concern
Advocates say respiratory illnesses are taking a toll on long-term care facilities, prompting calls for Canadians to exercise caution this holiday season while attending gatherings with senior citizens.
Canada's national seniors' advocacy organization, CanAge, said with the holidays approaching, people need to weary as cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are on the rise.
“Right now older adults and their family members are really trying to figure out what the holidays are going to look like,” said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge. “With COVID-19 and influenza – particularly influenza A on the rise we now have RSV which has shown up as well and is really making things difficult. So people are trying to understand what they can do to keep safe, and what they can do to keep their loved ones safe as well.”
The prompt for increased precautions comes as long-term care homes in the province have started reporting outbreaks of RSV.
According to Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) public health, a number of long term care homes have recently seen outbreaks of RSV.
Currently, two outbreaks are happening at the Village Of Riverside Glen in two separate units, while another RSV outbreak originally declared on November 26th has now ended at St. Joseph Health Centre.
“RSV is very contagious. It’s another respiratory virus, it’s the same as flu and COVID in terms of how it spreads person to person and so we are seeing that and the way to prevent it is to obviously not visit elderly people when you’re sick and to wear a mask,” said Dr. Nicola Mercer, the WDG public health’s top doctor.
Mercer said while there are a number of outbreaks, the severity of cases do not warrant any additional safety measures in long-term care homes. She added restrictive measures could impact the mental well being of seniors.
CANAGE WANTS ACTION
“In Guelph, in Kitchener-Waterloo area we are seeing a significant rise of RSV in long-term care homes. So not just COVID and influenza which they are tracking better, we are starting to get some better numbers with RSV. But those better numbers in terms of our data are bad news for everybody else because we can see a tripling of RSV even in the last couple of weeks,” said Tamblyn Watts.
Tamblyn Watts said the data right now is poor.
“In many cases if you look up the long term care home in your region it may say that there is an outbreak of COVID or influenza, but is unlikely to say if there is RSV unless there’s been a number of confirmed cases.”
Tamblyn Watts said often long-term care homes will list an outbreak as ‘unknown’ or ‘respiratory illness’ but it is not actually being tested.
“We need to make sure that the Ontario government is really testing and doing their good work in homes to make sure we have excellent numbers for RSV because right now all that we know is that it’s getting worse every day but we don’t know by how much,” said Tamblyn Watts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.