Cases of winter flu ‘rising rapidly’ with school-aged children worst affected
Cases of winter flu are “rising rapidly” – with England’s health boss urging those eligible to get vaccinated.
Cases are highest among those aged five to 14, with 16.9% of tests positive for flu – up from 11.5% last week.
Sharing the data on X, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “Influenza is now rising rapidly. Antiviral flu medicines can now be used in primary care.”
“If you are eligible please get vaccinated.”
The number of cases is in line with the 2022 to 2023 season, which peaked on 20 December, with 33% of tests positive for flu.
Last year, the peak was much smaller – with 16.7% of tests positive – and came more than a month later, on 27 January.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates while influenza rates are increasing, they remain at “low activity levels”.
Figures show the positive return rate for flu tests was 7.9% on 27 November, the most recent date for which data is available.
Flu is one of the illnesses circulating in the UK that have been dubbed the “quad-demic”.
COVID-19, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus are all expected to peak at different times during the season.
Dr Alexander Allen, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Flu is the cause of the rise in winter illnesses that we’ve seen in the past week, with emergency department attendances also increasing.
“Anyone still eligible for the flu, COVID-19 or RSV vaccines should get booked in ahead of the busy winter period, when we expect flu, and other respiratory viruses to spread between people more easily.
“Vaccination offers the best defence against these diseases, and now is the time to get protected before Christmas.”
THERE ARE HINTS THIS SEASON COULD BE A BAD ONE
Flu season is upon us once again. The big question, not just for anyone looking forward to a healthy Christmas break but for a creaking NHS which can be crippled by a severe flu season, is: how bad will it be?
The Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty took to social media to remind all those who are eligible to come forward for a flu jab. This is a sensible reminder in any given year – but there were some hints in the data he shared that this season might be a hard one.
Compared to last year flu cases have been rising faster earlier. In the last couple of weeks, the number of flu tests coming back positive has increased sharply. The speed of the rise is in line with the increase seen in the 2022-23 flu season.
No flu season is the same – the severity can vary due to the strains of flu circulating, the level of vaccination in the community, and the weather – but the 2022-23 season was, according to recent analysis, the worst in the UK in five years.
There are some other concerning signs – flu cases appear to be highest among school aged children– despite the fact vaccine uptake in this group is the highest it’s been.
For the time being at least, infection and hospitalisation rates in the most vulnerable groups – the very young and the elderly — remain low, although they are increasing.
The advice, as it is every season is for anyone who is eligible for a flu jab – children from 2 to 11, pregnant women, everyone over 65, vulnerable groups and health and social care workers – should get a flu jab if they haven’t already had one.
Australia has worst flu season on record
Australia has experienced its worst flu season on record.
Figures from Australia’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System showed 358,256 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu.
This beat 2019’s previous high of 313,615 cases and comes amid a declining rate in flu vaccinations.
Pic: iStock
How can you protect yourself?
You can catch the flu all year round, but it is especially common in winter.
The NHS says symptoms include: a sudden high temperature, an aching body, feeling exhausted, a dry cough, a sore throat, headache and difficulty sleeping.
“Vaccines work against the quad-demic,” Dr David Lloyd, a GP, previously told Sky News.
In fact, by getting vaccinated you halve your risk of catching any of the four illnesses, he said.
The NHS provides vaccinations against three of the four illnesses; flu, COVID-19 and, as of September this year, RSV.
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The flu vaccine is offered on the NHS every year in autumn and early winter. You can get it for free if you are over 65, have a long-term health condition, are pregnant, live in a care home, are a carer for someone, or live with someone with a weakened immune system.
Front line health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.
Analysis of the latest NHS vaccination data showed 335 vaccinations were given per minute for COVID, flu and RSV on average from 30 September to 17 November.
This works out to around 3.4 million vaccinations a week.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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