Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed speaks, alongside Water Quality Scientist Katie Stammler, at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, July 24, 2015. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed speaks, alongside Water Quality Scientist Katie Stammler, at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, July 24, 2015. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)
Windsor

Australian Flu Season Offers An Idea Of What To Expect

The top health official in Windsor-Essex is confident this year's vaccine will protect the population from the worst of the influenza virus, but if Australia's experience is any indication, we could be in for a doozy of a season.

A report by Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj says "the flu season in Australia this year has been harsh -- the number of confirmed cases and hospitalizations this year in Australia was also the highest in the last five years."

Blackburnnews.com Reporter Jake Kislinsky gets his flu shot at one of the Chatham-Kent Public Health's clinics. Blackburnnews.com Reporter Jake Kislinsky gets his flu shot at one of the Chatham-Kent Public Health's clinics.

News reports in Australia say there were 160,000 confirmed cases and dozens of deaths.

As a result of the experience there, the World Health Organization makes a recommendation against which strains to vaccinate.

"Our national advisory committee on immunization looks at that recommendation and then make a national recommendation," says Dr. Wajid Ahmed, acting medical officer of health at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

It was the H1N1, H3N2 and the influenza B viruses that ravaged Australia, and Ahmed hopes it will provide enough protection.

"Nobody knows how the influenza season goes," he cautions. "The tricky part about the influenza virus is they tend to change -- sometimes in the middle of the season -- makes itself a little bit more resistant to the vaccine that we use."

Despite that uncertainty, Ahmed insists a flu shot remains your best defense against getting sick.

The vaccine is expected to arrive in doctors' offices and clinics soon.

"I don't have a specific date when the vaccine will be released out to the community, but it should happen in a few weeks from now," he explains.

Last year, both Windsor Regional Hospital and Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare were over capacity for weeks after outbreaks at several long-term care homes sent elderly patients into emergency departments, but Ahmed says health officials have been working on a regional strategy to cope with any surges this year.

- With files from Maureen Revait

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