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31| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,January 4,2018 theifp.ca This winter's flu season is shaping up to be a partic- ularly nasty one ? and hos- pitals in Peel are feeling the crunch. "We're at the point right now that we can call it a surge officially," said Dr. Naveed Mohammad. "We've seen numbers go up in the last 48 hours." Mohammad is William Osler's vice president of medical affairs and he said that because of this year's flu "things are going to get a lot more hectic over the next two to four weeks" and this might be "a record breaking season" for flu cases. It's why hospitals in Peel are preparing for the on- slaught. Mohammad said all of the William Osler sites ? Brampton Civic Hos- pital, Etobicoke General Hospital and the Peel Me- morial Centre for Integrat- ed Health and Wellness ? have to be "hyper-vigilant" with their infection control procedures. He explained they start preparing for the flu season as soon as the previous one ends and dur- ing winter, staff are en- couraged to get the flu shot. Staff that aren't vaccinat- ed, however, have to wear masks while they are work- ing with patients. Prediction analysis ? mapping out the number of cases in previous years ? is also used to forecast the se- verity of the season. There is a blackout put in place during the winter that prevents staff from taking too much time off as well, he said. William Osler has also added 59 beds ? 37 of which will be at Brampton Civic ? which should help ease any overflow in the emergency department, according to Mohammad. The rest are going to Etobicoke Gener- al. There are a few factors that have contributed to this year's unusually harsh flu season. The flu outbreak that was experienced by Aus- tralia, New Zealand and countries in Asia have been an indicator of what's to come since the virus tends to travel overseas. "Their flu season this year was much more se- vere. The number of cases were much higher and the number of hospitalizations were much higher," said Mohammad, adding "the effectiveness of the flu vac- cine, especially in adults, was not a good as the previ- ous years" in the Southern Hemisphere, and the same is expected here as well. Mohammad attributed this to mutations in the virus that make it resistant to vaccines. It's still early on in the season, but Dr. Monica Hau said the possible severity of this flu season is because there are two different strains of the flu circulat- ing at the same time. In oth- er years, the two strains tended to appear one after the other. Hau, associate medical officer of health for Peel Public Health, said that "a mix of the strains si- multaneously" along with the early start to the season are some of the reasons why Peel region might have to deal with a misera- ble winter this time around. The 2016-2017 flu season saw over 1,400 cases of the flu in Peel region. The larg- est spike happened in Jan- uary 2017. So far this season, al- most half of reported flu cases are patients who are 65 years or older. NEWS Flu season may be 'record breaking' for Peel DANIELLE EDWARDS This winter's flu season is shaping up to be a particularly nasty one - and hospitals in Peel are feeling the crunch. Ministry of Health and Long Term Care graphic Please call for a tour 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Accredited by: R.R. 2, Guelph 519-856-4622 www.edenhousecarehome.ca 130 Mill Street East, Acton 519-853-0079 Full & Partial Dentures Implant Retained Dentures Precision Dentures (BPS® Certified) Relines, Additions & Repairs Dental Lab On Site No Referrals Needed To advertise on this page call Kelli: 905-234-1018 or email kkosonic@theifp.ca