It appears influenza has taken its time in reaching southern Manitoba this year.

Dr. Michael Routledge is Chief Medical Officer of Health for Southern Health-Santé Sud. He says in the last month or two there has been a lot of activity from the Respiratory Syncytial Virus or

2017 02 routledge
(Dr. Michael Routledge)RSV. Dr. Routledge says RSV produces cough and cold symptoms, and can especially hit young children.

"For people who are feeling under the weather for the last while, most of them probably have RSV," he says.

Another common virus going around is Coronavirus. He notes there hasn't been a lot of influenza yet, though cases are just starting to pop up. Dr. Routledge guesses that in the next four to six weeks there will be increased influenza activity as people deal with the cough, aches, pains and fevers.

According to Dr. Routledge, influenza typically arrives by late January. Flu season then lasts until March or April. He notes the influenza that is present, is showing up in different pockets throughout the region. Dr. Routledge says historically, influenza activity begins in coastal regions such as British Columbia or Ontario before it finds its way to Manitoba.

"BC and some of the eastern parts of Canada have had their influenza activity ramp up over the last number of weeks," he says. "It looks like we're starting to follow that same pattern now."

Dr. Routledge points out it isn't too late to get the shot, though he cautions it can take up to two weeks for the vaccine to really work. He notes it appears this year's vaccine is a good match with the type of influenza out there.

Meanwhile, he says if you are feeling sick, it is best to stay home from work or school. He adds if you feel you can best handle this flu by staying home instead of seeing your doctor, then do just that. But he says if you are concerned about your health, especially if you are somebody with high risk factors, then it is probably best you get it checked out.

"As much as you can, you want to stay at home and look after yourself, you'll get better faster," he says. "And you won't transmit virus to other people."

Aside from getting the flu shot, Dr. Routledge says there are some other tips for staying healthy, including regularly washing your hands, coughing into your sleeve, getting lots of sleep, eating well and staying physically active. He notes then when you do get an infection, it helps prevent it from turning into something more serious.