Three children in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario have died from
flu-related complications
in the past two weeks, public health officials say.
The deaths involved three children between the ages of five and nine. No more details were released.
“This is a stark reminder that the flu can lead to severe illness and complications that require hospital care,” medical officers of health from Ottawa and Eastern Ontario said in a statement issued Monday morning.
Deaths of children related to flu are rare in Canada. But the
currently circulating strain of influenza A
has hit children particularly hard, causing a sharp rise in serious flu cases in children. The number of deaths, so close to each other in a relatively small geographic area, appears to be unprecedented.
Dr. Trevor Arnason, medical officer of health for Ottawa, and Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, medical officer of health and CEO of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, are strongly urging everyone six months and over to get a flu vaccine as soon as possible.
“Vaccinations are especially important this season for children due to the rise in severe illness. Parents and caregivers can help protect children by being vaccinated themselves.” Arnason and Roumeliotis said in a statement.
CHEO has been seeing high volumes of sick children and children needing to be hospitalized with the flu. Last week, the hospital
sent an urgent plea to family doctors
to help take some pressure off them by extending their hours and volunteering to work at the Kids Come First clinic at CHEO so it can extend its hours.
CHEO raised concerns earlier about the high volume of children sick with flu and requiring hospitalization for flu. Officials there have also noted that few children being seen in the emergency department had been vaccinated against the flu.
Public health officials on Monday ramped up the plea for people to get vaccinated.
“As the vaccine takes about two weeks to reach full effectiveness, getting vaccinated now will help provide protection during the busy holiday season when there is often increased circulation of the flu. While the vaccine may not always prevent infection, it still offers strong protection against severe illness, hospitalization and complications,” said the statement.
