During week 9, the overall influenza activity remained low for at least 11 consecutive weeks and all influenza indicators were still considerably below expected levels for this time of the year.
One region in BC (Vancouver Coastal) reported localized activity and one outbreak in a school.
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the proportion of positive tests for influenza B (0.08%) was higher than the proportion for influenza A (0.04%). However, only three specimens were positive for influenza (one pandemic H1N1 2009 and two influenza B) out of the 2,574 specimens tested for influenza in week 9.
Respiratory syncytial virus detections were still high in week 9 with 24.0% of tests being positive for RSV.
No new hospitalized cases with pandemic H1N1 2009 were reported this week. Since the beginning of 2010, only 10 hospitalizations and two deaths have occurred.