Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EPIDEMIC ALERT AS FLU KILLS 8 IN ULSTER
Warning as worst outbreak in seven years hits 8.3m people
THE flu outbreak has claimed eight lives in Northern Ireland – and could soon reach epidemic proportions, it is feared.
In the past week 35 people in the UK have been killed by the virus, taking the death toll this winter to 120.
An estimated 8.3 million have developed symptoms as hospitals struggle with high admissions.
Expert Prof Paul Cosford said: “It’s the most significant flu season since the winter of 2010/11.”
We’re seeing more people are being admitted to hospital PROF PAUL COSFORD ON WINTER FLU
OLDER people are among the worst hit as the flu outbreak threatens to reach epidemic proportions.
We are in the grip of its worst flu season for seven years with hospitals facing “very high” rates of admissions.
Eight people have died in Northern Ireland and in the past week alone 35 succumbed to the virus across the UK.
And the death toll this winter stood at 149 – triple that of last year.
Official data yesterday revealed a “significant excess” of deaths among all age groups in Northern Ireland.
An estimated 8.3 million people, 15% of the population, have had symptoms in the past week and all parts of the UK experienced a huge rise in cases since the start of 2018.
If the trend continues, an epidemic could be declared within a fortnight.
Prof Paul Cosford, of Public Health England, said: “Our data continues to
show more people are visiting GPS with flu symptoms and we are seeing more people admitted to hospital with flu.
“In terms of hospital admission, this is the most significant flu season since the winter of 2010/11 and the preceding pandemic year of 2009.”
Statistics show a 2.5-fold rise of cases across England in the past two weeks, with 53.1 GP visits per 100,000 people.
A hundred cases per 100,000 would be considered an epidemic.
Wales had the steepest rise in cases with a four-fold jump to 64.9 visits to the
doctor per 100,000. Health chiefs had feared Australian flu – a type of flu A – would cause havoc here after fuelling the worst outbreak Down Under for a decade.
But latest figures showed B strains were dominating. Last week 4,500 people were admitted to hospital with flu.
Of those 2,754 were suffering from influenza B and the majority involved B-yamagata, or Japanese flu. Some doctors accused NHS officials of enabling the spread of this strain by encouraging GPS to cut costs by buying vaccines which do not protect against it.
A more expensive jab is available that does prevent Japanese flu.
But experts still urged people to get vaccinated.
Prof Helen Stokeslampard, of the Royal College of GPS, said: “The best prevention for flu, other than observing good hygienic practices such as regular hand washing, is for people to get their flu jab.”
She added: “It is not too late to receive some benefit from vaccination.”
WITH the horrible flu epidemic making life miserable and dangerous for millions, getting a jab might prove doubly effective this winter.
Along with suffering a nasty illness, those who haven’t had a jab could find themselves marooned in ambulances outside hospitals for several anguished hours... when a jab might have left them healthy at home in front of the TV.