Flu nearly doubles Winnipeg hospital admission rates

Admissions to Winnipeg hospitals are up, and emergency rooms are being inundated with people who have symptoms of the flu.

What we are continuing to see is a much higher level of need for admission to hospital from emergency than we do normally see, said The Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys Lori Lamont.

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Lamont said while the actual number of visits to ERs has stabilized, admission rates to hospitals have been as high as 20 per cent.

We normally see somewhere between about eight and 12 per cent visits result in hospital admission, said Lamont. We are not out of the woods yet in terms of seeing the high level of influenza in our system.

Lamont said the citys emergency rooms, quick care clinics and primary care clinics are still seeing high levels of patients, forcing doctors and nurses to work overtime and pushing wait times in emergency rooms higher than normal.

The places hit hardest are the citys personal care homes and the WHRA is doing everything they can to control outbreaks.

Tamiflu, Relenza prescribed preemptively

Theyve posted signs asking people to limit their visits and have ramped up their use of antiviral drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza in care homes.

The Centre for Disease Control in the United States has warned doctors that anyone with symptoms who is at high-risk for complications should be given the antiviral drugs, whether or not tests have confirmed they have the flu.

In Canada, the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases followed suit. In December, they issued a supplement to their guide for doctors about when to prescribe the drugs for high-risk patients.

Lamont said the WRHA has ramped up itsuse of Tamiflu and Relenza to fight outbreaks at personal care homes, and it haseven provided the drug to staff at the care homes before theyve shown signs of the flu.

Weve done it in a few three or four facilities at this point, and I think it has been helpful, she said. We are seeing a tapering of the new cases across the system, so we dont anticipate we would need to do that any further.

As for outside of personal care homes, Lamont said the WRHAis leaving it up to doctors to determine when a patient should receive an antiviral drug.

On Tuesday, officials with Manitoba Health sent out a letter to health care providers about the AMMIs extra guidelines.

Winnipegger Helen Reimer has been battling a cold for the past several weeks and had to visit her doctor twice to get treatment.

"I started with a cold on Christmas Eve in the morning. I was OK for a day or two, and it progressively got worse and worse, she said. I coughed for about three weeks, and I'm still battling it a little bit.

Reimer saw her doctor when she initially got sick but was told it was likely viral and to go home.

But days later when she was still very sick, she went back and got antibiotics.

By that time, Reimers husband had become sick also.

She said she isnt disappointed her doctor didnt prescribe Tamiflu or Relenza on the first visit, but she isnt sure if shell bother getting a flu shot again next year.

According to officials with the province, Manitoba is nearing the end of a major wave of flu cases that generally lasts six weeks.