PEI Weekly Influenza Summary 2022-2023 Season

Week 03 - January 15 to 21, 2023

Summary

There was sporadic flu activity in PEI during Week 03.
Our seasonal total is 339 lab-confirmed cases (109 A/H3, 1 A/H1N1, and 229 A/unsubtyped) .
The median age of cases to date is 24 years; 57% of cases are female .
Nationally in Week 02 (Jan 8-14, 2023), influenza levels continue to decline, with most indicators at levels typical for late spring/early summer. Most influenza detections were influenza A.

Epidemiological curve of laboratory data

There was sporadic flu activity in PEI during Week 03. Lab-confirmed influenza tests are just an indication of greater influenza activity, as many individuals with influenza do not seek medical attention.

This chart shows the weekly counts of lab-confirmed influenza during the 2022-23 Influenza Season

Positive influenza test results, current week, and cumulative 2022-23 season

Lab-confirmed cases	Current Week (03)	Cumulative 2022-2023
Influenza A	1	339
A/H3	0	109
A/H1N1	0	1
A/Unsubtyped	1	219
Influenza B	0	0
Total Influenza	1	339

Respiratory outbreaks, current week, and cumulative 2022-23 season

Respiratory Outbreaks	Current Week (03)	Cumulative 2022-2023
Influenza A	0	7
Influenza B	0	0
Influenza, Unknown Type	0	0
ILI¹	0	18
Total Outbreaks	0	25

¹ ILI: Influenza like illness; does not include COVID-19

Severe outcome surveillance, current week, and cumulative 2022-23 season

Severe Outcome	Current Week (03)	Cumulative 2022-2023
Hospitalizations¹	0	79
ICU	0	6
Deaths²	0	2

¹ Hospitalization data is gathered through infection prevention and control practitioners at each Island hospital. Data includes ICU cases.

² Deaths include individuals with a positive influenza test result. Influenza may not have been the major contributing cause of death.

Definitions (based on national Fluwatch definitions)

Activity levels:

No activity: no lab-confirmed influenza detections in the reporting week, however, sporadically occurring ILI may be reported
Sporadic: sporadically occurring ILI and lab-confirmed influenza detection(s) with no outbreaks detected within the influenza surveillance region
Localized: evidence of increased ILI; lab-confirmed influenza detection(s); outbreaks in 1 county only
Widespread: evidence of increased ILI; lab-confirmed influenza detection(s); outbreaks in more than 1 county

Outbreaks:

Hospitals and Residential institutions: 2 or more cases of ILI occurring within a 7 day period, with at least 1 lab- confirmed case
Schools, Workplaces and other: absenteeism greater than 10% higher than expected which is most likely due to ILI