A steady stream of people have been visiting the emergency department at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney, N.S., with respiratory illness and Influenza A.
“We're seeing it in little children, we're seeing it in working aged adults, and we’re seeing it in the elderly. So, it seems to be a pretty wide spectrum of people being affected by influenza this year,” said Dr. Margaret Fraser, a Cape Breton physician.
On Prince Edward Island, officials have declared an influenza outbreak at a long-term care facility and have restricted visitors to the home.
“It's a trend we've seen worldwide. Australia had their respiratory season early. Ontario and the rest of Canada has seen their respiratory season early, so it just seems to be how it's happening this year,” said Fraser.
Fraser says it’s unclear why the flu is hitting earlier and lasting longer in some cases.
Nova Scotia Health says 394 new cases of Influenza A were reported between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17.
Of those, 59 people were hospitalized, while three died.
“It seems that maybe in the last week with reporting in the province that maybe the flu had peaked, but in this next week to two week period, I would expect that might change a little bit with all of the gatherings,” said Graham MacKenzie, a pharmacist.
In New Brunswick, the province's latest update showed 10 new flu deaths, bringing the total number of deaths this season to 30.
There were also 146 new hospitalizations reported during the week of Dec. 4 to Dec. 10.
Empty shelves and the lack of over-the-counter medications at pharmacies in our region is also making it more difficult for people to alleviate symptoms.
“Our recommendation is that if you're experiencing a fever or have a cough that's lasting more than a couple of weeks and you're just not getting better, it's probably at a point where you should get it looked at,” said MacKenzie.
Normally, the typical flu season in the Maritimes doesn't start to ramp up until the new year.
Health officials say it's important to get a flu shot and wear a mask.
