Deaths from influenza climb to 15 since September, Manitoba Health says

Fifteen people have died from the flu from September to Feb. 1, the province's latest influenza surveillance report says.

That's five more deaths since the previous week's report, which covered the week of Jan. 19 to Jan. 25.

The most recent report, which includes an update from the week of Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, says there were 138 lab-confirmed cases of the flu: 96 cases of influenza A and 42 cases of influenza B.

The report says that represents a slight increase in detection of influenza A, and a decrease in cases of influenza B.

It also says there were 213 hospitalizations 21 of which were admissions to the intensive care unit related to the flu since September.

That's a jump from 180 hospitalizations in the previous week's report.

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The report says flu activity was high that week, with respiratory syncytial viruses common, highly contagious illnesses that often affect children co-circulating with the flu at a higher level than expected for this time of year.

And while the number of respiratory visits to the emergency room decreased from the previous week, it was still higher compared to previous years, the report says.

Overall, younger people have been more affected by the flu this season, with almost all cases of influenza B and three-quarters of influenza A cases affecting people under the age of 65.

The report says provincial labs have confirmed 1,112 cases of the flu since September: 522 of influenza A and 590 of influenza B.

It also notes a slight increase from 24.4 per cent to 24.8 per cent from the previous week's report in the number of people getting the flu shot.

The report says these numbers are subject to change, and any missed reports caused by delays in submission to the health department will be included in later reports once the data is available.