Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provided a favourable update on Friday, Jan 13 regarding what's been a volatile flu season. (B.C. Government/Flickr)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

positive signs

Respiratory illnesses leveling off after early season peak

Jan 13, 2023 | 3:25 PM

NANAIMO — Following elevated numbers of people sick from seasonal illnesses, the province reported more positive signs following a turbulent early start to flu season.

During a Friday, Jan 13 media briefing, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported the Influenza A strain causing widespread illness in children and the elderly continues dropping.

“Respiratory illness will continue, generally we start seeing it leveling off in February and by March, so we’re not out of the woods by any means yet.”

The province reported influenza cases in all age groups fell from peak test positive rates of 27 per cent in late Nov. to 5 per cent in the first week of January.

While cases of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are “relatively high”, Dr. Henry said case levels are showing signs of slowing down.

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No additional children’s deaths beyond the six fatalities late last year have been reported as a result of the potent respiratory illness season, Henry said.

She cautioned a different strain of the flu, albeit less severe, could appear with more regularity.

“We often see later in the season that we’ll see another wave of Influenza B, so we’re watching for that. So far we’ve not seen a lot of it.”

The Influenza B strain does not tend to be as drastic, Dr. Henry pointed out.

A severe respiratory illness season was predicted by the province, following two years in which public health measures limited social interactions and supressed spread of the flu.

The province also reported hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are decreasing slowly.

BC Centre for Disease Control data released on Thursday, Jan. 12 showed just over 300 people with COVID-19 are in hospital.

Twenty four confirmed cases of the XBB 1.5 variant have been detected in the province.

From Jan. 1-7, 2023, there were 661 new cases of COVID-19 reported.

To date, there have been 24 confirmed cases of the contagious XBB 1.5 variant detected, the province reported.

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