Canadian doctors warn of ‘tripledemic’ this flu season
Canadian physicians are sounding the alarm on a pending “tripledemic” of influenza — the flu — respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID this fall.
From November to March, residents observed a surge of all three respiratory viruses nationwide, resulting in painkiller scarcity, increased hospitalizations and emergency room visits, reports Global News.
On August 24, Toronto Public Health’s associate medical officer of health, Dr. Vinita Dubey told the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) to expect a ‘triple threat’ of respiratory viruses again this season.
“We take our lead from what’s happened in the Southern Hemisphere because their winter is before ours. They certainly have had a busy season with those three viruses, and we [saw] that here last year, too,” she said.
Although COVID is no longer considered a global health emergency, “COVID is still here,” said Dubey.
The manufacturer GSK claims their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) jab, Arexvy, is 94% effective at preventing illness in seniors with underlying medical conditions.https://t.co/7RC78r83HF
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) August 8, 2023
According to Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist at Unity Health Toronto, the severity of this flu season is up in the air until school resumes. Right now, cases of respiratory illness are relatively low.
“When schools reopen and activity begins in the post-vacation period in September, we’ll have some sense of how large the increases might be [towards the end of September],” he said. “The flu season, when that arrives, is typically a bit later, along with the RSV season.”
Typically, the flu, RSV and COVID are transmitted through respiratory droplets when people gather indoors during colder months. In close corridors, these viruses can spread more quickly.
RSV and the flu, which typically emerge a bit later in the fall and winter seasons, started earlier than usual last year, meaning all three viruses peaked around the same time.
During the last flu season, hospitals cancelled major surgeries to redeploy staff amid overcrowded emergency departments and intensive care units.
Pediatric acetaminophen and ibuprofen became more scarce, worsened with the reopening of schools, work and indoor gatherings as the government lifted COVID mandates.