this is very strange...Alberta Health Services says there is no influenza in this province

[Anonymous]

Dr. James Dickinson says the complete absence of flu in Alberta appears to be genuine..



But, I can't help wonder if some people who are testing positive for COVID actually have seasonal influenza..



Both are coronaviruses.....it seems unlikely that this province is influenza free.



Still no influenza cases detected in Alberta's 'unique' season



As the calendar turns over to the new year, Alberta has still not detected a single case of influenza this season.



The absence of seasonal flu in Alberta this far into the season is hugely unusual, according to Dr. James Dickinson, a professor at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine who runs the Alberta community influenza surveillance program.



Tests that detect types of influenza are different from ones that detect COVID-19, Dickinson said, meaning the complete absence of flu in Alberta appears to be genuine.



"It's a really unique situation, but that's what it's looking like at the moment," he said.



"It's a dearth in terms of research, but it's a good thing for people that we only have one problem, not a whole lot of problems."



Alberta Health Services statistics available through Jan. 2 show zero lab-confirmed cases of influenza in Alberta since reporting on this season began Sept. 27.



That number pales in comparison to the previous year's flu season, when 2,998 people had tested positive for influenza by Jan. 4, 2020, with 461 hospitalizations and nine deaths. By the end of the season, 39 Albertans had died of the flu.



"We've really reduced opportunities for people to bring influenza into the province, and into the country, because of reduced travel," he said. "And secondly, all of the precautions against COVID are precautions against any respiratory virus. So what we're doing to stop COVID stops flu as well."



Alberta's influenza surveillance program works by testing a sample of people who present with flu-like symptoms. These samples are typically taken by physicians, but this year, five sites that swab for COVID-19 are also taking samples for influenza.



"The viral testing makes quite sure there isn't anything else, and in the testing so far, we're just not seeing anything else," Dickinson said.



The most recent flu season update from AHS also marks a milestone for vaccinations.



In total, 1,476,702 doses of flu vaccine have now been administered in Alberta, meaning more than a third of the province's population has been immunized.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/still-no-influenza-cases-detected-in-albertas-bizarre-season">https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-ne ... rre-season">https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/still-no-influenza-cases-detected-in-albertas-bizarre-season

[Anonymous]

No flu?? I'm calling horseshit.

[Anonymous]

No flu?? I'm calling horseshit.

It does seem suspicious.

[cc]

Impossible to believe that

[Anonymous]

Impossible to believe that

cc, you've read more about COVID-19 than everybody else on the forums combined..



Have you read anything about the possibility of COVID positive tests possibly being influenza?

[cc]

Not heard that. I would think (and like to believe) that science would know if a covid test registered a covid positive result for flu



Further, they are very different in structure also



However, the text in  the OP is preposterous and not believable

[Anonymous]

Not heard that. I would think (and like to believe) that science would know if a covid test registered a covid positive result for flu



Further, they are very different in structure also



However, the text in  the OP is preposterous and not believable

I agree, it's impossible there's no seasonal flu in Alberta..



I thought testing could distinguish between the two one hundred per cent, but now I wonder.

 ac_umm

[Anonymous]

I mentioned this to my husband and he says he knows two people from his place of employment who had the flu. They tested for COVID and the results were negative.

[Anonymous]

No flu? As if.