Increase in influenza hospital admissions in Manawatu

Flu admissions at hospitals across the North Island have spiked, including in Manawatu.

Eleven people were admitted to Palmerston North Hospital with flu as the weather got colder – three in May, four in June and four in July.

This spiked from only one person admitted for influenza across the three months in 2016. In 2015, two people went to hospital with flu in May and five in July.

Midcentral DHB hospital services operations director Lyn Horgan said hospitalisation rates varied year on year and month on month throughout the country.

The spread of the AH3N2 virus was one reason for the high rate of hospitalisations. The virus was normally associated with high hospitalisations, especially among elderly people, she said.

As with any illness, people should first contact Healthline 0800 611 116, their GP, a pharmacy, or an after-hours medical centre, to avoid long waits and allow emergency departments to deal with lifethreatening illnesses and injuries.

Associate Professor Jim Reid from Otago University said flu had hit the North Island harder than the South Island.

Although it had not reached epidemic levels, it had still been a significant year for influenza, he said.

Taranaki DHB chief operating officer Gillian Campbell said there had been an increase in admissions for influenza and flu-like illness this winter. There were 26 people admitted to hospital with flu in July, which was at record levels, she said.

This was up from one person in July 2016, and eight in July 2015. Six people also needed hospital attention in June this year and one in May.

The number of people admitted to hospital in Taranaki with pneumonia also spiked, with 161 so far this year, up from 98 in 2016.

A Capital and Coast DHB spokesman said there were 494 influenza tests processed at its regional laboratory in July. These tests were from hospitals and community-based GP practices across the lower North Island. Nearly half of the tests were positive, and 96 were patients in the emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital.