Thousands More UK Deaths Than Usual and they Don't Know Why

There have been thousands more deaths in the UK than expected
in recent months and "we don't know why" (https://bit.ly/3EYqhd1),
according to New Scientist magazine which attempts to get to the
bottom of the question before admitting the experts are all baffled.
The UK has seen an unexplained surge in deaths in recent months,
causing concern among the country's chief medical officers, all
of whom are claiming to be perplexed about the cause
(https://bit.ly/3eOAjmA).
"Since April, there have been 22,500 more deaths than expected
in the UK. Health experts are concerned but unsure of the causes
which could include covid-19, population ageing and NHS problems.
"Many suggestions have been put forward for why there have been
about 22,500 more deaths between April and August than would
normally be expected, but there is little agreement so far on the
cause or causes."
It's not just the UK where excess deaths are causing puzzlement
among the medical establishment.
More people in Alberta, Canada are dying of "ill-defined and
unknown causes" than any other cause of death includin cancer,
heart disease, and Covid-19, according to a study released in the
International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Canadian doctors and a civil liberties lawyer in the Canadian
province of Alberta are raising concerns about a growing trend
of deaths labeled as "unknown causes" after an unprecedented
increase in such deaths was recorded in 2021.
This new category on autopsy reports and death records now tops
'Covid-19,' which was added to Alberta's death tally in 2020. A study
looking at excess deaths in Alberta was quietly released in March
in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
That study found the "Top 10 Causes of Death in 2021" by the
Government of Alberta were as follows:
 - ill-defined and unknown causes (3,362)
 - Dementia (2,135)
 - Covid-19 (1,950)
 - Chronic ischemic heart disease (1,939)
 - Malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus, and lung (1,552)
 - Acute myocardial infarction (1,075)
 - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( 1,028)
 - Diabetes mellitus (728)
 - Stroke (612)
 - Accidental poisoning by and exposure to drugs and other
substances (604)
The unknown causes of death category began appearing
recently - and doctors are baffled.
"I think it's probably multifactorial, so there are probably many
things playing into that," said Dr. Daniel Gregson, an associate
professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University
of Calgary. He specializes in infectious diseases and microbiology.
Independent Sentinel reports:
Dr. Gregson believes those factors include a lack of resources to
determine the cause of death in certain cases, delayed access to
healthcare services, and post-Covid-19 complications.
"We have this impression of surviving Covid, and that's the end
of it, and that's not necessarily true," Dr. Gregson told CTV News.
Dr. Gregson noted a large study out of the U.S. which found that
people with Covid-19 are at a higher risk of heart disease, stroke,
pulmonary embolism, and death than those who were not infected.
This risk is even higher for those who were hospitalized with
Covid-19. Dr. Gregson surmised, "We do expect that there will be
deaths that aren't directly related to Covid, but indirectly related
to COVID to occur after the diagnosis in patients after the first
month of infection." He said, "One would expect some of those
patients to survive the Covid and then die at home from other
complications."
Alberta Health and the medical examiner's office said they are
looking into this report data but have yet to explain the sudden
spike in deaths from unknown causes.