Skip to main content

Respiratory Virus Data

The respiratory virus data tool consists of surveillance dashboards and summary reports.

Respiratory virus data are updated weekly on Thursdays.


Key trends

March 14, 2024 Summary:

Epi week 10: Mar 2 to Mar 9, 2024

Influenza B activity remains low; influenza A and RSV peaks have passed; COVID-19 activity remains relatively stable.

  • Influenza B test positivity remained low and relatively stable over recent weeks, following an increase in late January.* Influenza B levels increased at many wastewater sites across the province.

  • Influenza A test positivity continued to decrease since late December.* Influenza A levels at most wastewater sites continued to decrease over recent weeks. Among subtyped influenza A samples over the past four weeks, the majority were H1, as it has been so far this respiratory season.

  • RSV test positivity continued to decrease since late December.* RSV levels at most wastewater sites continued to decrease over recent weeks.

  • COVID-19 hospital admissions, critical care admissions, and deaths have remained relatively stable since early February. SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels have been relatively stable at most sites.

  • The proportion of emergency department and primary care visits for respiratory symptoms has been stable since mid-January, following a decrease from a peak in late December.
* Fraser Health data are unavailable for epi-week 10 (March 3-9, 2024).

National and international context

Influenza

  • In Canada, most influenza activity indicators have remained similar compared to the previous epi-week and are within or below expected levels typical of this time of year. Influenza A test positivity has decreased in recent weeks while influenza B test positivity has steadily increased; influenza A continued to remain higher than influenza B. Influenza A has been the most frequently reported influenza type since the start of the 2023/24 respiratory season; among those subtyped, 86% were H1.

  • In the USA, influenza activity remained elevated nationally with increases in some parts of the country. Overall influenza percent positivity remained stable, while trends in percent positivity of influenza A and influenza B varied by region. Since the start of October, influenza A was the most frequently reported type; of those subtyped, 74% were H1.

RSV and other viruses

  • In Canada, RSV activity remained stable and below expected levels for this time of year. All other non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses were within expected levels typical for this time of year.  

COVID-19

  • In Canada, SARS-CoV-2 percent positivity, COVID-19 activity levels, hospitalizations and deaths have continued to slowly decrease or remain at low levels.

  • In the USA, weekly SARS-CoV-2 test positivity, COVID-19 new hospital admissions, emergency department visits diagnosed as COVID-19, and weekly deaths due to COVID-19 have continued to decrease.  
Dashboards

The respiratory virus dashboards display data for circulating viruses including influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), enteroviruses/rhinoviruses (ERV), and others.


Reports
Respiratory season surveillance reports summarize key insights for circulating viruses including influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), enteroviruses/rhinoviruses (ERV), and others.

2023/24 Weekly Respiratory Epidemiological Summaries

Special reports provide an in-depth summary of select topics during the current respiratory virus season.

British Columbia

Southern Hemisphere

 

    • The respiratory season report summarizes key insights from 28 August 2022 through to 22 April 2023. Following two years of relatively low non-COVID-19 respiratory illness activity in 2020/21 and 2021/22, the 2022/23 season is characterized by the return to seasonal respiratory virus co-circulation patterns, albeit with some atypical features.

  • Archived B.C. COVID-19 Data
    • Links to archived B.C. COVID-19 data including the B.C. COVID-19 Dashboard, maps, and PDF reports can continue to be accessed through the

About the Respiratory Diseases data platform

The Respiratory Diseases data platform combines surveillance for COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory pathogens in one platform to monitor trends throughout the respiratory season. The platform is made up of a series of interactive online data pages.

The last respiratory data update of the season was published on May 4, 2023. Updates on influenza and other respiratory pathogens will resume in the fall.

COVID-19 updates will continue monthly throughout the spring and summer.

Changes to COVID-19 data system: May 4, 2023

The British Columbia (BC) COVID-19 surveillance system was updated on May 4, 2023 to use infection episodes of COVID-19 to capture multiple COVID-19 infections in the same person. The update to the system will also capture all hospital and critical care admissions and deaths in a person with a positive lab test. This is a shift from using a system of using first positive lab result for surveillance.

For detailed information about the update to the surveillance system and impact of the changes, read the technical document: BC COVID-19 Surveillance System Update: Infection episode-based approach

National data 

 


Tab Heading
SOURCE: Respiratory Virus Data ( )
Page printed: . Unofficial document if printed. Please refer to SOURCE for latest information.

Copyright © BC Centre for Disease Control. All Rights Reserved.

    Copyright © 2024 Provincial Health Services Authority.