Flu blamed for deaths of 6 children across B.C. in recent weeks, doctors told
Doctors have been told six children across British Columbia have died from the flu over the past two weeks, CTV News has learned.
The information was shared Monday at a meeting that involved staff from BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital, as well as other pediatric specialists.
There were at least two toddlers among the children who died. Some were in treatment, while others did not make it make it to BC Children’s Hospital. They came from various parts of the province, including Richmond and West Kelowna.
Recording that many deaths over such a short period of time is unusual for B.C. – normally, one or two children will die from the disease over the course of an entire flu season.
Six-year-old Danielle Cabana, who was a member of the Richmond Raven U7 girls hockey team, died after experiencing complications from the flu at the end of November.
Loved ones described her as “a real firecracker.”
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry warned Monday that Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 “does tend do cause more severe illness across the board, but particularly in young children and in older people.”
CTV News has been trying to learn exactly how many people have been dying from respiratory illnesses, separated by age, but despite repeated requests for the information, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has not provided any statistics.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.