Flu season continues longer than expected
The longer colds and flu session has resulted in more than 4 million units of colds and flu treatments being sold over the winter period – almost 4 per cent more than last year.
The colds and flu season usually vary in timing, severity and duration from one season to the next, but according to experts, we might be in for a longer spell.
Nicole Jennings, spokesperson for Pharma Dynamics – a leading provider of colds and flu medication in the country – said labs across the country started to see an uptick in positive colds and flu tests from the last week in May – two weeks later than the 2016 season.
“The colds and flu season generally peaks between 6 and 9 weeks after it starts, but this year it spiked early, in the week starting 26 June. Often when this occurs, it’s not uncommon to see a later, second peak in August due to a change in circulating strains, so consumers should keep up their immune-boosting supplementation to ward off nasty bugs,” said Jennings.
She also said the average duration of the colds and flu season over the past 33 years had been 12 weeks, but this year it could extend to 18 weeks, which would take us well into September. There has also been a lot of speculation around how global warming is likely to impact the colds and flu season.
Jennings pointed out that it was once thought that global warming could bring on fewer deaths caused by respiratory infections during the colder months of the year. However, the most recent research by Arizona State University found a significant association between warm winters and severe colds and flu cases.
According to Jennings, it’s difficult to identify exactly which provinces have the highest level of flu infections since the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has differing numbers of surveillance sites per province.
Another complication is monitoring cold strains as there are more than 100 viruses that could cause cold. Jennings says even the most common cold virus, the rhinovirus, has more than a hundred different strains.
Jennings said there were usually 20 – 30 different types of rhinoviruses each season in one geographic area, and only about 10 per cent of those would show up in the following year, making the development of a vaccine extremely difficult.
“However, when it comes to influenza it’s a lot easier to monitor since there are only about three strains each season. The most predominant flu
strain this year has been influenza A (H3N2), which was detected in 87 per cent of patients with a positive influenza result. The dominant H3N2 strain is the variety that typically cause more severe disease.”
The longer colds and flu session has resulted in more than 4 million units of colds and flu treatments being sold over the winter period – almost 4 per cent more than last year.
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