The number of cases of influenza, as well as hospitalizations and deaths due to the viral respiratory illness, continue to escalate in Canada, and infectious diseases experts say there’s no telling how soon the seasonal scourge will reach its peak and begin to taper off. Figures from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s FluWatch report show there were 1,948 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in the final week of December – the latest period for which statistics are available – a jump from 1,229 a week earlier and 692 the week before.