DEH CHO
Free flu vaccinations are still available at the health centre in Fort Simpson for residents who want to beat the bug.

Since late January, influenza has been creeping into all regions of the Northwest Territories, with three confirmed cases of the H1N1 strain in Fort Simpson.

Flu season has affected attendance at Bompas Elementary School and prompted principal Kelley Andrews-Klein to send a notice out to parents reminding them to keep their sick children home from school.

In the notice sent out on March 4, Andrews-Klein said several illnesses are afflicting students and staff members causing attendance to be very low over the past week.

On March 4, Health and Social Services public health physician Kami Kandola said 10 people across the Northwest Territories have been hospitalized so far this flu season out of a total of 65 confirmed cases.

"The level of influenza activity is typical for the flu season - we're not higher or lower than we were last year," Kandola said.

Out of the confirmed cases, fewer than 10 per cent involved people who had received the flu vaccine. According to Health and Social Services, the overall vaccine update this year was around 18 per cent.

"The best way to prevent yourself from getting the flu is to get vaccinated. That's what we're seeing in these statistics," Kandola said.

The flu season typically starts in the late fall. In late 2015, the H3N2 stream of Influenza A was concentrated in the Beaufort-Delta region. It wasn't until the new year that H1N1 began to spread, Kandola said.

The flu vaccine, which includes protection against H1N1, generally takes around two weeks to work, during which time a person can still catch the flu. Ideally, Kandola said, Health and Social Services starts to administer the vaccine in October and November.

Most common flu symptoms include high fever, cough and muscle aches. Other symptoms can include headaches, chills, loss of appetite and sore throat, among others.

Kandola said aside from vaccinations, the best thing a sick person can do is stay at home and not visit people at high risk of catching influenza, such as elders, people in care facilities and infants.

"For elderly people with underlying health conditions such as chronic diseases ... if they get the flu, they're at higher risk to get a complication," Kandola said.

Other at-risk groups include pregnant women and children under the age of five.

Complications from influenza can include shortness of breath, bluish skin, chest pain, vomiting and spitting up blood.

"If you have any of those symptoms, you should call your health-care provider," she said.

Washing hands, coughing into sleeves and staying at home are all methods of reducing the effect of influenza on the community.

As for children under five, Kandola said influenza often looks more like a gastric infection than symptoms typically seen in adults.

Infants six months and younger cannot be given the vaccine.