Ireland is experiencing a significant surge in influenza cases, reaching the highest recorded level in at least seven years. This surge is attributed to the highly contagious AH1 variant and is particularly impacting nursing homes and other residential settings. While the number of hospitalizations has slightly decreased, influenza remains prevalent in the community.
Latest figures from HPSC show the largest recorded number of cases of the flu for at least seven years. HSE chief clinical officer Colm Henry said uptake of the flu vaccine this year has been 'disappointing'. There were 3,802 cases in the week to January 4th with 956 hospital admissions and seven deaths, according to the HPSC. Instances of the flu are being driven by outbreaks in nursing homes and other residential settings.
There were 60 outbreaks in nursing homes in the week up to January 4th, the last for which figures are available. There have been 11,043 cases of recorded flu in the State since the start of the flu season on September 30th, but the vast majority of cases have come in the last four weeks. According to the HSE, there were 678 people in hospital with the flu on Wednesday. This figure has come down slightly in recent days, but there remains a high level of flu circulating in the community. On Thursday morning there were 430 patients on trolleys in the State with 65 in University Hospital Limerick alone. Flu season tends to peak in early January. This year’s surge has been blamed on the particularly infectious AH1 variant which has not been around since the 2018/2019 flu season. Health Service Executive (HSE) chief clinical officer Colm Henry said the uptake of the flu vaccine this year has been “disappointing” as the system has grappled with a surge of the virus. The number of adults over the age of 65 getting the flu vaccine decreased from 75 per cent to 72.5 per cent and the number of children under the age of 17 who have been vaccinated decreased from 19.1 per cent to 15.9 per cent. Among those in at-risk groups for whom vaccination is recommended, children aged 13 to 17 have the lowest uptake at 12 per cent. However, the number of cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has decreased sharply since an immunisation programme for newborn babies was introduced in September. About 83 per cent of eligible babies have received the vaccine against RSV and already the number of cases of RSV among infants has dropped to a fraction of what it was
FLU VIRUS HEALTH IRELAND OUTBREAKS HOSPITALIZATIONS VACCINATION NURSING HOMES RESPIRATORY VIRUS AH1 VARIANT
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