As pressure mounts on the strained national health service, consultant microbiologist Dr Adam Brown said: “It is vital that we take actions that help control these infections and reduce the risk of spread.” Dr Brown added: “We are seeing an exceptionally large rise in cases of influenza in the community across Scotland.” Official data from NHS England revealed that were were more than 3,700 patients a day in hospital with the flu last week – up from 520 daily the month beforehand.Flu cases skyrocket ahead of the holidays
Of these, 267 people required specialised care in critical care beds last week.
To compare, this time last year, there were only 34 patients in hospital a day with flu.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, commented on the latest figures.
“Sadly, these latest flu numbers show our fears of a ‘twindemic’ have been realised, with cases up seven-fold in just a month.”
Symptoms of the flu:
A sudden high temperature
An aching body
Feeling tired or exhausted
A dry cough
A sore throat
A headache
Difficulty sleeping
Loss of appetite
Diarrhoea or tummy pain
Feeling sick and being sick
