Alberta seeing rise in respiratory diseases, overwhelming hospitals

Just in time for the holidays, Alberta is seeing a growing number of flu cases. With multiple outbreaks affecting Edmonton-area schools, experts say hospitals are filling up with overflowing waiting rooms.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg. We’re no where near our peak and it’s only going to keep getting worse,” said Dr. Paul Parks, the president-elect of the Alberta Medical Association’s Section of Emergency Medicine.

Doctors say respiratory diseases like influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 are filling emergency rooms and causing strain on most hospitals.

“We’re going to see surgeries cancelled. We’ve had already seen kids with cancer getting their chemotherapy delayed. We’re already seeing that we’re starting to have impacts on all aspects of our health system because our system is starting extremely stressed,” said Dr. Parks.

It’s not just hospitals, as of Monday, 11 schools in the Edmonton zone are on a respiratory virus outbreak. In Calgary, 25 meet the provincial criteria.

“I’m definitely considering getting the flu shot for all of us,” said Kelly, an Edmonton father. “I have an 8-year-old, and he’s at school. Everywhere is like an epidemic in school. Every kid takes a week off.”

Neha, an Edmonton mother of two, said, “I have children in the house, so you know how difficult it can be when children get the flu. I have my parents at my home too, so I’m just worried about their age group as well, because I feel they’re like the most vulnerable.”

According to government data, there have been 2,180 lab-confirmed seasonal influenza cases so far this season, with over 800 people being hospitalized. 54 of which ended up in the ICU. Alberta has recorded 21 flu-related deaths, which is on top of COVID-19 and RSV cases, as well as the common cold.

“The sharp rise in cases being reported as new or shocking happens every year, here and everywhere else. In fact, this year’s rise to date has been slower than both 2022 and 2023,” said the province in a statement.

“Claims that this is ‘just the start’ and will likely continue for many more weeks overlook the fact that both 2022 and 2023 peaked around this time. While we can’t predict the future, if we’re going to speculate, it’s more reasonable to suggest we’re at or near the peak. Last year was an aberration, the only season in over 10 years that stayed elevated for many weeks rather than showing the typical sharp peak (and sometimes a smaller second peak).

The province adds that, “Claims that flu vaccination is ‘way down’ are also inaccurate. Uptake is at 97 per cent of last year’s level, so any suggestion that the rollout is compromised is simply incorrect. Similarly, fear-mongering around COVID is not supported by the data. Hospital admissions remain strikingly low, there has been no winter wave yet, and in every year since 2020, the peak has already occurred by this point. Warnings about “other viruses rising alongside flu” are also misleading, as RSV is increasing more slowly so far than last year.”

The province does say that COVID vaccination rates are down, which they believe is due to people feeling the risk is much lower.

“This is a pretty rough time of year for kids. It’s getting cold outside; people are spending a lot of time indoors together and there’s a lot more gatherings,” said Dr. Anne Hicks, an associate professor in pediatric respiratory medicine at the University of Alberta.

Experts say with just one week left of school before most holiday breaks, you should keep good hygiene, consider vaccination, and stay home when sick.

“Let’s think about protecting those vulnerable people that we really care about to make sure everybody can have a safe and happy holiday season,” said Dr. Hicks.