Australia’s flu season is off to a wild start. Is it a ‘precursor’ for Canada?

Canadian authorities are reporting a decline in influenza cases following a late-spring surge, but in another country they monitor, flu cases are on the rise. What does this mean?

Influenza activity in Canada is declining following an unusual late-spring surge in the respiratory virus that has seen little spread during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around this time of year, influenza cases in Canada usually are in steady decline following the fall and winter seasons, but a resurgence in early April when numerous COVID-19 measures lifted created an anomaly in that trend.

Flu cases have been low since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, but with the pandemic easing in certain parts of the world, other respiratory viruses are beginning to reemerge and Canadians should be prepared, especially considering what’s happening in Australia.

“Their numbers of (flu) cases are higher than the five-year average for that sort of time of year. … So they’re seeing quite a few cases of influenza-like illness and confirmed influenza,” said Dr. Susy Hota, an infectious diseases specialist with the University Health Network in Toronto.

“It’s a precursor to what we could face.”

Australia’s flu season, which typically runs from May to October, has long been looked at by Canadian health experts in preparation for flu season here, which usually begins anywhere between late October and early January.

In Australia, influenza cases have been on the rise since early March, and have exploded in recent weeks.

Between May 9 and May 22, there were 26,193 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in Australia, which is more than three times higher than the previous reporting period between April 25 and May 8, the government said in its latest report. The country has logged 38,743 cases so far this year.