Schmidt K, Ben Moussa M, Buckrell S, Rahal A, Ches. National Influenza Annual Report, Canada, 2022-2023: Canada´s first fall epidemic since the 2019-2020 season. Can Commun Dis Rep. 2023 Oct 1;49(10):413-424
Coinciding with the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020, Canadian seasonal influenza circulation was suppressed, which was a trend reported globally. Canada saw a brief and delayed return of community influenza circulation during the spring of the 2021-2022 influenza season. Surveillance for Canada´s 2022-2023 seasonal influenza epidemic began in epidemiological week 35 (week starting August 28, 2022) and ended in epidemiological week 34 (week ending August 26, 2023). The 2022-2023 season marked the return to pre-pandemic-like influenza circulation. The epidemic began in epidemiological week 43 (week ending October 29, 2022) and lasted 10 weeks. Driven by influenza A(H3N2), the epidemic was relatively early, extraordinary in intensity, and short in length. This season, a total of 74,344 laboratory-confirmed influenza detections were reported out of 1,188,962 total laboratory tests. A total of 93% of detections were influenza A (n=68,923). Influenza A(H3N2) accounted for 89% of the subtyped specimens (n=17,638/19,876). Late-season, Canada saw community circulation of influenza B for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The 2022-2023 influenza season in Canada had an extraordinary impact on children and youth; nearly half (n=6,194/13,729, 45%) of reported influenza A(H3N2) detections were in the paediatric (younger than 19 years) population. Weekly paediatric influenza-associated hospital admissions were persistently above historical peak levels for several weeks. The total number of influenza-associated paediatric hospitalizations (n=1,792) far exceeded historical averages (n=1,091). With the return of seasonal influenza circulation and endemic co-circulation of multiple high burden respiratory viruses, sustained vigilance is warranted. Annual seasonal influenza vaccination is a key public health intervention available to protect Canadians.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Pathological evidence of neurotropism and oculotropism in wild black-headed gulls naturally infected with H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza 1 minute(s) ago
- Birth cohort effects in adults associated with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine effectiveness 12 hours ago
- Genetic Characterization of Swine Influenza Viruses in Thailand in 2019-2025 Reveals Novel Reassortants 12 hours ago
- Outbreak dynamics of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1, clade 2.3.4.4b euBB, in black-headed gulls and common terns in Germany in 2023 13 hours ago
- [preprint]The canine respiratory epithelium is a permissive ecosystem for influenza interspecies transmission and emergence 13 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


