Fifty-three lab-confirmed cases of influenza have hit Waterloo Region so far this winter – 18 of them requiring hospitalization and one proving fatal.
But compared to last year, it’s actually a mild flu season.
“We would have had about 200 cases at this time last year,” says Kristy Wright, manager of infectious disease for Region of Waterloo Public Health.
Wright calls the confirmed cases just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to local influenza activity, noting that many people don’t report their sickness to physicians.
Most information on the one local resident to die from influenza cannot be released due to privacy concerns, but Wright says it was an adult aged 40 to 64 with underlying conditions.
It was not known whether they received the flu shot, which, officials say, remains the best way of protecting against the disease.
Although most flu shot clinics are held in the fall, public health officials are hosting two more in the coming weeks – one Jan. 6 in Waterloo and one Jan. 13 in Cambridge.
Vaccinations are also available from pharmacists and physicians.
Of the 53 recorded influenza cases in Waterloo Region so far this year, 20 have been of the H1N1 strain.
