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New Brunswick reports another 10 flu deaths in latest update

Ten more people have died from the flu in New Brunswick, bringing the total number of deaths this season to 30, the latest weekly figures from Public Health show. 

More than 500 hospitalizations this flu season, 30 deaths

CBC News ·
The blurred figures of two people are seen walking by a store window with a sign reading "Get Your Flu Shot Today," with the Shoppers Drug Mart logo beneath that message on the sign.
New Brunswick has reported 2,827 cases of influenza since the start of this year's flu season. (Doug Ives/The Canadian Press)

Ten more people have died from the flu in New Brunswick, bringing the total number of deaths this season to 30, the latest weekly figures from Public Health show. 

There were also 146 new hospitalizations reported during the week of Dec. 4-10. 

That brings the total number of hospitalizations this season to 534. It's more than the five deaths and 92 hospitalizations reported last season. 

New Brunswick saw over 1,000 positive influenza cases in the latest weekly case count. Since the beginning of the flu season, 2,827 cases have been reported across the province. 

A drawing showing the map of New Brunswick separated into five health regional zones.
Zone 5, in light blue, is the only area to have ‘sporadic’ flu activity. The rest of the zones, in darker blue, have ‘localized’ flu activity. (Government of New Brunswick)

The regional breakdown of cases is:

  • Moncton region, Zone 1 — 344.
  • Saint John region, Zone 2 — 154.
  • Fredericton region, Zone 3 — 194.
  • Edmundston region, Zone 4 — 63.
  • Campbellton region, Zone 5 — 23.
  • Bathurst region, Zone 6 — 145.
  • Miramichi region, Zone 7 — 93.

Zone 5, the Campbellton region, is the only area to have "sporadic activity," which Public Health defines as sporadically occurring influenza detections with no regional outbreaks. 

The rest of the zones in the province have the second-highest level of activity, called localized activity. It's defined as increased influenza detections with reported outbreaks in school, hospitals, residential institutions and other types of facilities.  

Outbreaks in nursing homes, schools

Six nursing homes across the province were hit with lab-confirmed outbreaks – in the Saint John region, the Fredericton region, the Bathurst region and the Miramichi region. 

That's a jump from the previous weekly count, where only one nursing home was hit with an outbreak. 

A chart showing the number of outbreaks in nursing homes and school, using line and bar graphs.
The number of influenza outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals by week this season is illustrated in yellow, compared to the average number in previous non-pandemic seasons illustrated in green. Influenza-like outbreaks in schools this season are in orange, compared to the previous average, in purple. (Government of New Brunswick)

These latest case counts saw a drop in school-related outbreaks, with 24 outbreaks compared to 63 in the previous week. 

Public Health notes that these could also be due to the ongoing circulation of COVID-19 and should be "interpreted with caution."

There's been more than 200 outbreaks in nursing homes, schools and other areas this flu season so far. 

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