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Hospitals around Winnipeg are seeing a wave of RSV and influenza patients, especially among children.
Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital, says they’re seeing three times as many cases in their emergency room over the past few weeks.
“Influenza, classically, hits like a freight train running through the station,” Dr. Lagacé-Wiens tells 680 CJOB.
“It’s definitely something that comes hard and fast, so a tripling of the numbers in three weeks is pretty typical for influenza, we see very high peaks very rapidly.”
Dr. Karen Gripp, medical director of the emergency department at HSC Children’s Hospital, says the surge began in the latter half of December. They’re seeing about a 25 per cent increase — around 160 patients per day, compared to 120 at the beginning of the month.
“In terms of RSV, that’s where we’re seeing the sickest patients, and that’s those patients under the age of 12 months,” says Dr. Gripp. “Although RSV can affect anyone, it predominantly affects those children under the age of two.”
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These illnesses can get severe enough that the patient needs a ventilator. But the hospital has contingency plans in place, and Dr. Gripp says so far, they’ve been able to handle the patient load.
According to Dr. Rodrick Lim from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, respiratory virus season is a little different every year. Doctors know cases will surge in the winter, but can’t predict when or how big the surge will be.
Dr. Lim says things haven’t really settled since the pandemic
“Anytime you get a varied blip or an abnormal event, it takes a number of cycles before we can kind of predict where things will settle down,” says Lim. “We will always have a viral surge in the winter, and probably during the rest of my career, always have a challenge around staffing, access, patient loads.”
Prevention is still key, Gripp says, saying parents should always try to avoid a trip to the ER, especially with infants.
“Keeping your babies away, don’t kiss the babies — that’s really a cardinal pediatric rule during respiratory season,” says Dr. Gripp. “A virus that can cause just a minor cold or a mild illness in an adult can be devastating for a baby.”
Parents are advised to get their kids of all ages vaccinated in the fall and keep them at home if they show symptoms.
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