Numbers of influenza B and RSV cases are steadily increasing in the Beaufort Delta region, the NWT’s chief public health officer said on Friday.
At the start of January, the territory’s public health professionals had warned that a wave of influenza B was likely to follow the influenza A cases that made the winter feel like a particularly severe season.
Since Inuvik’s first influenza B case was reported on January 4, Dr Kami Kandola’s office wrote on Friday, “increased cases of influenza B and an uptick in RSV cases have been seen in many of the communities of the Beaufort Delta region.”
Over the past week, the advisory continued, 15 of the 17 confirmed influenza B cases reported in the NWT have occurred in the Beaufort Delta, as have the majority of recent RSV cases.
“Vaccination and staying home if you are sick are the best measures to prevent spread of disease. As we enter March spring break, we anticipate an influx of travellers and visitors, therefore it is important that the public (six months of age and older) be up to date on their vaccines,” Kandola’s office wrote.
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“Stay home if you are sick. Follow general respiratory best practices such as covering coughs or sneezes, washing hands frequently and not attending public events, work or school if you are ill.”
