Influenza continues to hit hard in Oxford County

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Cases of influenza continue to rise across the Southwestern Public Health Unit area as hospitals report an influx of patients presenting with flu-like symptoms.

Colleen Brett is the manager of infectious diseases at the health unit and despite the media attention around this year’s influenza situation, it is nothing out of the ordinary.

“What we did notice this year is we experienced flu sooner than we typically do and we are seeing a lot of influenza A, but otherwise it’s following the same track.”

According to the latest update to the health unit’s influenza dashboard, last updated on Dec. 14, 31.3 per cent of flu tests are coming back positive, with the risk level still considered very high. Last year’s positive test results peaked at 31.8 per cent on Feb. 16.

The health unit also tracks influenza outbreaks at area hospitals, as well as in long-term care and retirement homes. As of press time, that number sat at five across Oxford and Elgin counties as well as the City of St. Thomas.

“It is declared where there is evidence of illness spreading, especially in a long-term care home, and it’s based on specific criteria set out in provincial guidelines, depending on what the illness is,” she added.

In general terms, two or more cases in a long-term care home area or hospital wing within a short period of time are grounds for an outbreak declaration.

Brett said the health unit supplies outbreak-management support, which includes appropriate testing.

“We then encourage adherence to very specific infection prevention and control measures. We may have to isolate or cohort those who are ill and then just provide ongoing support to prevent further spread.”

As of April 2022, long-term care homes were required to have an infection prevention and control (IPAC) lead on staff. The regulation also sets minimum hours that the IPAC lead must work onsite each week, based on the size of the home. The mandate was introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted gaps in infection control practices in the sector.

Brett said working with each home’s IPAC lead means one point of contact during an outbreak.

“It streamlines the communication with one person to talk to. There are very close conversations between our infectious disease staff and their IPAC leads. It ensures consistent communication for sure.”

The Woodstock Hospital is feeling the effects of the flu season and took to social media recently to let potential patients know a visit to the Emergency Department (ED) could result in longer-than-normal wait times.

“Many patients who require admission are waiting for inpatient beds. As a result, they remain in an ED bed until an inpatient bed is available on the unit. This limits space in the ED and can contribute to longer waits,” said a hospital Facebook post.

The hospital’s communications manager provided a statement to the Gazette on Tuesday, which said several patients requiring admission are waiting for inpatient beds.

“As a result, they remain in an ED bed until a bed becomes available on an inpatient unit. This reduces space in the ED and may contribute to longer waits. This is often referred to as an ED hold or no bed admit,” said hospital communications and public relations officer Chelsea Fagan.

Many people are arriving at Woodstock Hospital with significant flu-related symptoms such as fever, respiratory issues, dehydration and complications such as pneumonia, which often require admission. Fagan added hospitals across the province have surge plans to deal with an increased number of patients.

“Hospitals have additional beds on inpatient units, known as overflow beds, that we are currently using. In addition, as part of surge planning, we have also turned some of our private rooms into double occupancy rooms. While we understand this isn’t ideal, it is sometimes necessary to provide care for the number of patients requiring admission, and to move patients out of the emergency department as efficiently as possible.”

Fagan explained Woodstock Hospital also has internal dashboards developed by its IT department for clinical teams to receive real-time updates on patient status, unit capacity and flow indicators.

“These tools support timely decision-making and help promote smoother transitions of care throughout the hospital.”