Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Dec 05, 2025 55 minutes ago
Medical News: Pediatric Hospitals Hit by Record Flu Wave
Canadian children’s hospitals are facing a severe crisis as an unusually early and aggressive flu season drives record numbers of young patients into emergency departments. Facilities from Ontario to Quebec are reporting unprecedented levels of influenza A infections, with many children experiencing serious illness requiring hospitalization. Experts warn the situation may deteriorate further as the flu season hasn’t even reached its peak.
Pediatric hospitals across Canada are overwhelmed as flu season hits early with record child ER visits
At CHEO, the leading pediatric hospital in eastern Ontario, medical staff saw a staggering eightfold increase in positive flu tests in November compared to the same time last year. Hospitalizations doubled during the same period, with most of the affected children being unvaccinated. CHEO’s emergency department was overwhelmed on Monday alone, managing nearly 300 children—a 20 percent jump from 2024, according to senior executives of acute care at CHEO. With bed capacity maxed out, the hospital has resorted to using overflow spaces to manage the patient load.
CHEO senior executives noted that public health projections indicate the worst could hit later this month. This
Medical News report highlights how Canada’s pediatric care infrastructure is already straining under pressure as more cases are expected to emerge across other provinces.
Quebec and Ontario Brace for Flu Peak
Montreal Children's Hospital has also seen a dramatic spike in flu-related visits. According to the director of pediatric emergency medicine, patient numbers surged from mid-November, reaching over 200 children per day. He described ER conditions where up to 15 new cases registered every hour—well beyond the department’s handling capacity. Most are testing positive for influenza A.
Similarly, Toronto's St. Joseph’s Health Centre Just for Kids Clinic is also observing a rise in children presenting flu-like symptoms, including coughs, prolonged fevers, and gastrointestinal distress.
Alarming National Trends and Vaccine Warnings
Across the country, the proportion of positive flu tests in pediatric hospitals rose sharply—climbing from 35 percent to 43 percent between November 16 and 23. The most affected are children and teenagers, as tracked by the Surveillance Program for the Rapid Identification and Tracking of Infectious Diseases in Kids, which collects real-time data from more than a dozen hospitals nationwide.
The surge is being driven primarily by a rapidly evolving strain of H3N2 influenza A, a variant known to cause more hospitalizations. This year’s strain has acquired mutations that may reduce the effectiveness of the current flu vaccine. Nonetheless, experts stress the importance of immunization.
A pediatric intensive care physician at B.C. Children's Hospital, acknowledged t
he possibility of a “slight mismatch” between the vaccine and circulating strains. However, he emphasized that the flu shot still offers significant protection against severe disease. “It’s not about perfect prevention. It’s about reducing the chance your child ends up seriously ill,” he explained.
Flu Threat Growing Across the Northern Hemisphere
While British Columbia has yet to see major surges in flu-related hospitalizations, experts caution that cases could rise there soon. “Flu doesn’t respect borders. If surges are happening in Ontario and Quebec, they’ll likely spread west in the coming weeks,” they warned.
Similar alerts are being issued globally. In the United Kingdom, health officials recently flagged the ongoing wave as potentially one of the worst flu seasons in recent years, with Scotland recording a 45 percent increase in cases in just one week. In the United States, the H3N2 strain is already spreading rapidly, with elderly populations expected to bear the brunt in the coming months.
Canadian public health authorities are encouraging families, especially those with children, to vaccinate as soon as possible to help limit severe outcomes and reduce hospital burdens.
Hospitals are urging caregivers to be vigilant, seek early care for worsening symptoms, and ensure their children are protected before flu season peaks. With mounting patient numbers and limited healthcare resources, experts fear this flu season may stretch pediatric systems to their limits across the country.
References:
https://dashboard.sprint-kids.ca/
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/respiratory-virus-surveillance/influenza.html
For the latest H3N2 Flu News, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/china-faces-overwhelming-surge-of-h3n2-infections-as-hospitals-reach-breaking-point
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/uk-nhs-faces-catastrophic-flu-crisis-as-aggressive-h3n2-strain-drives-unprecedented-hospitalizations
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/flu-and-respiratory-infections-explode-in-kyrgyzstan-with-over-36000-cases-in-one-week
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/northern-ireland-faces-most-severe-flu-crisis-in-years-as-child-cases-soar
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