Throughout the southeast, and across the whole province, respiratory illnesses have been on the rise. In the most recent Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program, released by the provincial Ministry of Health on December 8th, the primary cause for respiratory illnesses was influenza, followed by COVID-19, then Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
Dr. Stanley Enebeli is the Medical Health Officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority for the southeast region of the province, including Weyburn and Estevan.
“We can see that we do have certain respiratory viruses co-circulating in our communities,” Dr. Enebeli reported. “Of importance of note is the increasing test positivity for influenza, in this instance influenza A. We’ve seen a significant increase in the last couple of weeks.”
The CRISP report also detailed the number of positive tests for COVID-19 has declined across the province by 38 percent in the past four weeks, while the number of influenza-positive tests has gone up by 61.3 percent in the same time span.
With the number of respiratory viruses making the rounds, Dr. Enebeli recommended people take a few steps to reduce their chances of getting ill, or if they are already sick, to prevent the spread of the virus to others.
“We do have the influenza and even the COVID vaccine available, and it is recommended for everyone six months of age and older,” the doctor explained. “It’s particularly important for people who are at high risk of influenza, or even other respiratory illness complications like our seniors, people with underlying health conditions, those with compromised immune systems, children, pregnant people.”
He added regular hand hygiene is always helpful, as is covering a cough, and if a person is sick, to stay home and rest.
Bedrest was also one of the key things Dr. Enebeli pointed out as a way to help recover from a respiratory virus. He added staying hydrated and taking time away from strenuous activities while sick will help with the recovery period.
“Most people do get better when they do this, but for some who might have been, or would experience more severe symptoms, I would encourage them to seek care for that, but for the most part, most people, particularly if you’ve been vaccinated, would just experience mild symptoms,” Dr. Enebeli continued.
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