Flu-nami EXPLOSION! Number of Britons with severe flu quadruples in a month – 3.5 times more than last year, as experts warn of ‘dangerous’ weekend ahead
Britain is being ravaged by a ‘skyrocketing’ tidal wave of flu, health chiefs warned today.
Surveillance programs monitoring the outbreak in Britain suggest that hospital admissions due to flu have quadrupled from a month ago.
Figures show that last week alone, more than 4,500 beds were occupied every day by flu patients, 3.5 times more than in the same week last year.
Of these, 211 were in intensive care – an increase of 69 percent from the previous week.
More than 4,100 Britons also spent Christmas Day in hospital with flu. By December 29, this had risen to more than 5,000.
Meanwhile, numbers of winter-vomiting norovirus are also 40 percent higher than expected for this time of year.
Health chiefs fear outbreaks will accelerate in the coming days after more people socialize indoors over the Christmas and New Year period.
They also warned that an ‘extreme’ cold snap set to hit Britain this weekend will continue to pile pressure on already overburdened hospitals.
The latest forecast says temperatures in Britain will drop as low as -10 degrees Celsius, while weather warnings for snow are in place across much of England and Scotland.
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and urgent care, said: ‘These latest figures show that the burden of flu had far from subsided before we entered the new year, skyrocketing to more than 5,000 cases per day in hospital as of 2011. late last week and rising at a very worrying rate.
‘In addition to flu, there is also ongoing pressure from Covid, while hospital cases with RSV and norovirus are also higher than last year, with hospitals adding 1,300 more beds last week than the same period last year, in anticipation of this continued pressure from viruses and other requirements.
‘With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected across England this weekend, we know the low temperatures could be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have breathing problems.
‘So if you are at risk, try to stay warm and make sure you stock up on regular medicines.
‘Continue to use NHS 111 and 111 online if you need advice and support for health problems, and only use 999 or go to A&E in life-threatening emergencies.’
An average of 528 hospital beds in England were filled every day last week by patients with diarrhea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms, according to the latest weekly NHS figures.
This is down from 723 in the previous week, but almost double the same point last year and (377) and in 2022 (338).
Norovirus can resemble the symptoms of Covid, with both viruses causing chills, fever and headache
RSV – which is most common in infants and young children – was up almost half from the same period in 2023.
Last week, an average of 74 children were in hospital every day with RSV.
More than 1,100 beds were also occupied by patients with Covid.
Some hospitals have begun limiting visiting hours and imposing mask mandates amid fears of a rising number of “quad-demic” cases.
Earlier this week, NHS trusts including Cambridge, Northern Lincolnshire, Essex and Bedfordshire introduced new restrictions to limit the risk of infection to patients, staff and the public.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and the Welsh Ambulance Service have reported critical incidents due to the huge increase in demand for care.
On Saturday, NHS Dumfries and Galloway also introduced temporary restrictions on visits due to a ‘high number of respiratory illnesses’ in the community.
More NHS trusts are expected to report critical incidents in the coming days, with demand in primary care already set to increase significantly after the holiday period.
The UK’s Health Security Agency has imposed an amber health alert until January 8, warning that the weather is likely to have ‘significant impacts on health and social care’
Snow in Allenheads, Northumberland, photographed on Thursday morning
Yesterday, the health department warned people not to go outside early in the morning or late in the evening during the coming snowy weather.
The joint advice from the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also urged people to check their medicine cabinet for essentials and stay active by not sitting for more than an hour and wearing several layers of thinner clothing.
A separate UKHSA Cold-Health Alert for all regions of England is expected to last until January 8.
Despite mounting pressure, the latest official data shows that just under one in four frontline healthcare workers in England have had the flu vaccine this year.
The government report shows that in total only 24.3 percent of staff responsible for direct patient care have been vaccinated against influenza.
Analysis of the data showed that vaccination rates this year in every staff group, including NHS hospital staff, paramedics and GPs, are lower than in the 2023 season.
Public health specialists say people with even mild cold symptoms should consider self-isolating because they could unknowingly have the virus, which can be fatal for the elderly.
In addition to avoiding family gatherings, they have recommended wearing a mask and social distancing to avoid passing on the bug.
The above five Met Office maps show snow in London between 10pm on Sunday and 2am on Monday
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert from the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: ‘If you have flu you should stay away from other people for the first three days and preferably the first week.
‘This is especially important if they are older or suffer from medical conditions that put them at greater risk.’
Flu symptoms include fever, sore throat, muscle aches and coughing, but Prof Hunter warned that many people are simply suffering from something similar to a cold.
About a fifth of people infected with flu have no symptoms but can still pass the disease on to others, he added.
University of Warwick virologist Professor Lawrence Young also urged people with possible flu symptoms to consider lockdown-style measures.
‘If you have flu-like symptoms it is very important to think about limiting your contact with other people, especially those who are clinically vulnerable to respiratory infections,’ he said.
He added that this is important to consider even if vulnerable people had received a flu shot because, like any vaccine, it cannot provide 100 percent protection against serious disease.
Influenza, also known as flu, is responsible for around 40,000 hospital admissions and more than 10,000 deaths each year in Britain, although this can be higher in bad years.