Cases of winter flu ‘rising rapidly’ with school-aged children worst affected

Published

1 year ago

December 4, 2024

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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

Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

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.

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.

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.

UK

Search for suspects after ‘pepper spray assault’ at Heathrow Airport

Published

5 hours ago

December 7, 2025

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Search for suspects after 'pepper spray assault' at Heathrow Airport

Police are investigating after a “number of people” were believed to have been attacked with pepper spray by a group of men who then fled.

Officers were called at 8.11am to a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 following reports of multiple people being assaulted, said the Metropolitan Police.

A statement by the force said: “A number of people were sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then left the scene.”

What we know so far
• Several assaulted with ‘pepper spray’
• One arrest – police hunt for more suspects
• Incident said to involve people known to each other
• Incident not being treated as terrorism
• 21 people treated by ambulance service – five taken to hospital
• Injuries not believed to be life-threatening
• Traffic disruption reported – but train lines since reopened

Live updates on Heathrow incident

Armed police attended and one man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody and enquiries continue to trace further suspects.

Police are not treating the Heathrow incident as terrorism.

London Ambulance Service also attended the scene and treated 21 people, including five who were taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.

There is currently some disruption to traffic in the area and Terminal 3 remains open.

Increased police presence

Commander Peter Stevens said: “At this stage, we believe the incident involved a group of people known to each other, with an argument escalating and resulting in a number of people being injured.

“Our officers responded quickly and there will be an increased police presence at Heathrow Airport throughout the morning, to continue enquiries and ensure the safety of those in the area.

“We are not treating this incident as terrorism. I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning.”

‘Significant incident’

The London Ambulance Service said a “significant incident” was declared.

There was a “full deployment” of resources and the ambulance service is treating it as ongoing.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “We were called at 8.14am today to assist emergency service colleagues at an incident near Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport. Firefighters remain at the scene.”

Heathrow is advising passengers to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any queries.

There was disruption to train and Tube services, with some delays on the Elizabeth Line and the Piccadilly Line.

National Rail said on its website that lines had been reopened allowing trains to call at Heathrow “following the emergency services dealing with an incident at the airport”.

It said: “Although lines have now reopened, disruption is expected to continue whilst services return to normal, delays of up to 10 minutes and cancellations can be expected until 11.45am.”

National Highways East said on X: “A serious incident within the @HeathrowAirport Tunnel has resulted in the closure of the #M4 spur road southbound between M4 and J4A.

“@metpoliceuk responding. We’ll keep you updated.”

It later said: “Incident has been resolved and all closures lifted on the #M4 southbound @HeathrowAirport spur road between #M4 and J4A.”

People on social media have reported vehicles were being searched at the airport.

A user on X said there was a “major backlog of cars unable to leave the vicinity or enter the drop-off zone” at Terminal 3.

In footage on X, several armed police were seen in a car park.

UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

Published

23 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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UK

World Cup 2026 – who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2025

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World Cup 2026 - who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Scotland and England now know who they will face in the group stage of the next summer’s world cup.

But the fates of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales won’t be determined until they compete in pre-tournament play-off matches in March.

England are in Group L along with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Their first match will be against Croatia, who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Scotland’s first match will be against Haiti, in Group C.

Brazil and Morocco are the other Group C teams – both countries were also in the same opening group as Scotland in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Wales have yet to find out if they will qualify as they must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, and then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they can overcome these play-off opponents then they will secure their place in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. But Northern Ireland will also be vying and hoping to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Ireland also need to get through the play-offs first and are paired against the Czech Republic for their semi-final. Should Ireland win that match, they will need to beat either North Macedonia or Denmark to get to the finals where an opening group containing joint hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea awaits.