Respiratory Virus Data

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

Respiratory virus data are updated weekly on Thursdays.

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Key trends

February 5, 2026

Respiratory virus activity in BC

Reporting period:  January 25-31, 2026 (Epi-week 4) - O​pen the ​week​l​y summary as a PDF

Current respiratory activity is measured in consideration of recent past respiratory seasons.​

Influenza and RSV activity are moderate; COVID-19 is low.

Influenza

  • Influenza A test positivity is stable at moderate levels after decreasing for the past four weeks. Influenza B test positivity is showing early signs of increase. Wastewater levels are low-to-moderate for influenza A and B.

RSV 

  • RSV test positivity continues to increase and is at moderate-to-high levels. Wastewater levels remain low-to-moderate. ​

COVID-19

  • SARS-CoV-2 test positivity remains stable and low. Wastewater levels are low-to-moderate. Severe outcomes remain low.​

Health care visits

  • The proportions of emergency department and primary care visits for respiratory illness remain at moderate levels. Trends are comparable to prior seasons.

National and international context

Influenza

  • In Canada, all indicators of influenza activity continued to decrease in the most recent reporting week.  
  • In the USA, seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and increased this week after three weeks of decreasing trends. 
  • In the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), influenza circulation remains high. Following four weeks of decreasing trends from the initial peak, data from surveillance in general practice show an increase compared to the previous week, mainly affecting children. Adults aged 65 years and above account for the highest numbers of admissions to hospital, ICU and in-hospital deaths during the season. 

RSV

  • In Canada, indicators of RSV activity were either increasing or stable in the most recent reporting week.
  • In the USA, RSV activity is elevated in many areas of the country, including emergency department visits among infants under 1 year and children 1-4 years old. Hospitalisations are highest among infants less than 1 year old.
  • In the EU/EEA, RSV circulation is elevated and continues to increase in most countries. This season’s RSV epidemic is several weeks later than in the last two years. Hospital admissions are rising in most reporting countries, primarily among children aged under five years.

COVID-19

  • In Canada, indicators of COVID-19 activity were stable or decreasing in the most recent reporting week.  
  • In the USA, COVID-19 activity is elevated in some areas of the country. ​
  • In the EU/EEA, SARS-CoV-2 circulation remains low in all age groups, and the number of hospitalisations due to SARS-CoV-2 is currently limited compared to influenza and RSV. 

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Dashboards

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

2025/26 Respiratory Epidemiological Summaries and Special Reports

​Respiratory virus activity summary

Past season: 2024/25 Epidemiological Summaries and Special Reports
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​Respiratory virus activity in BC: Weekly Summary

Past season: 2023/24 Epidemiological Summaries and Special Reports

​COVID-19 Situation Report

  • COVID-19 Situation Report Archive - This report is an archive of the data previously included in the COVID-19 Situation Report dashboard, from January 1, 2020, to August 31, 2024.

Respiratory Epidemiological Summaries

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

Special Reports

Historical reports
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  • ​​2022/23 Respiratory Season Surveillance Report
    • ​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-1​9 Data​

Technical Documents & Resources

​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 

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