As of Monday afternoon, influenza had been responsible for one death and 47 hospitalizations thus far this winter in Waterloo Region.
Officials with the region’s public health unit report a total of 76 lab-confirmed cases of the flu – but caution that there are likely many more going unreported.
“What we see is really the tip of the iceberg, because the people that are reported to us are only those who have been seen by a physician and been tested,” Kristy Wright, the region’s manager of infectious disease, told CTV News.
Seven influenza outbreaks have also been confirmed across the region this season, while seven more are suspected.
That number includes the outbreak at Grand River Hospital’s Freeport site, which was declared on New Year’s Eve.
Initially, the Freeport outbreak involved two patients on the second floor of Union Terrace.
It was later expanded to include the fourth floor – and as of Monday, there were seven patients at the facility with confirmed influenza, and one more suspected to have it.
Hospital spokesperson Mark Karjaluoto said a number of precautions were in place, including the patients being isolated until they display “a substantial sign of improvement” and staff on affected units not also working in other parts of the hospital.
The outbreak will remain in place until hospital staff are satisfied there won’t be any more cases of influenza.
While Freeport itself may not see any new cases, the community at large almost certainly will.
“It looks like … we’re not at our peak yet,” Wright said, noting that his year’s prevailing influenza strain is H3N2, which is often a more severe strain of the flu.
Complicating matters is that this year’s flu vaccine isn’t a perfect match for H3N2, although it does still offer some protection against the virus.
