Recent news that there have been almost no cases of seasonal flu has begged experts to wonder where it went this year.

Provincial labs testing for flu have indicated it’s been weeks since there has been a positive test for either H1N1 or seasonal flu. In fact, the Public Health Agency of Canada officially declared the end of the second wave of H1N1 at the end of January.

Large media coverage and awareness campaigns may have been the reason that H1N1 has disappeared. People were taking the necessary precautions to prevent catching the flu and were getting vaccinated.

But how to explain the disappearance of the seasonal flu?

Did the pandemic H1N1 flu virus replace the seasonal flu viruses? Or did the pandemic just prevented (it looks that way, anyway) the regular seasonal flu season? Or did being exposed to the H1N1 virus or being vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine give people protection against other flu viruses? A mild winter could also be factor.

Experts are still looking into this, trying to figure out this enigma that is the flu. While doing so, they are also starting to focus on what will happen next season. Pandemic H1N1 could return, or older strains that haven’t been seen in a while could also come back as the seasonal flu.

In the mean time, I think we can all say that the vigilance we took these past few months, with hand sanitizers and proper hand washing, has probably played a great factor in reducing the spread of flu. And I hope that we continue to practice good hygiene. It just makes sense, any time of year, whether or not we’re in a pandemic.