Windsor-Essex has its first confirmed case of Influenza A and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is urging residents to get their flu shot beginning Monday.
“Flu is still causing death in our Canadian population and I think what people don’t realize is they can spread the flu without even realizing they’re doing so,” Lora Piccinin, the health unit’s infectious disease prevention manager, said Friday.
“The flu is spread through coughing and sneezing and can live on surfaces for up to eight hours.”
There are approximately 3,500 deaths related to influenza each year in Canada and of those 1,365 occurred in Ontario, Piccinin said. The health unit said there were four deaths related to influenza in 2015 in Windsor-Essex.
The first Windsor-Essex case this year was confirmed with a nasal swab Oct. 19 which is the same date as last year’s first case, she said. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to become effective so the health unit is advising people to get the shot early. The vaccination rate in the Windsor region is about 38 per cent.
People who are 65 years or older with chronic conditions and young children are the most vulnerable and the health unit recommends anyone over the age of six months get the vaccine. “It’s safe. It’s the best way to protect yourself and it’s also protecting the people around you.”
Beginning Monday the flu vaccine is available to the general public. Some people have already received their annual vaccination through a family doctor and you can call your doctor or nurse practitioner and make arrangements to get the vaccine or go to one of the 87 pharmacies in Windsor-Essex that will provide the free vaccine.
The health unit’s flu clinics begin Wednesday with the first one at its Ouellette Avenue office from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The unit is also running clinics in November including Nov. 3 from 4 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex in LaSalle, Nov. 9 from noon to 6 p.m. at the University of Windsor in the C.A.W. Student Centre, and Nov. 17 from 4 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the WFCU Centre on McHugh Street in Windsor.
The health unit is also reminding people to wash their hands frequently, sneeze into an elbow or tissue, keep surfaces such as computers and countertops clean, and if you’re sick to stay home or keep sick children home to avoid spreading the flu.
The flu season usually spikes after Christmas and lasts until April.
