The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reminding residents to get a flu shot.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says flu season isn't close to over and cases are on the rise.
During an update at Thursday's board meeting, Ahmed revealed children under 10 years of age account for 43% of documented flu cases so far this year - that's up from 9% in 2017.
He tells AM800 News everyone always thinks older people need a vaccine and young kids sometimes ignore it.
"This particular strain is targeting young adults and young children. So people who haven't been vaccinated yet, our message is for them to get the vaccine," he says. "The vaccine is a pretty good match with the circulating strain that we're seeing in the community."
He says the method of testing has changed over the years and new criteria makes it tough to keep accurate numbers, but a 43% jump in youth flu cases is a pretty big jump.
"We're still seeing the number of cases going up, maybe not as much as two-three years ago, but what we're seeing in the community is pretty substantial, which we haven't seen before."
Concrete numbers on this year's flu season won't be available until February, but until then, the health unit is recommending anyone who hasn't been vaccinated to get the shot.