The flu death toll in the UK has now reached 254, latest figures reveal as the end of this year’s killer outbreak edges further closer.
Some 215 deaths are believed to have struck England, 27 are known to have died in Scotland and 12 in Northern Ireland. No precise data exists for Wales.
And 5,300 have been left hospitalised from the deadly bug so far this winter, with so-called ‘Japanese flu’ responsible for almost half of these cases.
This is a 15 per cent jump on the week before, when just 4,600 had been hospitalised by the flu.
But cases have peaked in all of the home nations and are on a rapid decline – except in Wales, where GPs are still being swamped by suspected cases.
Flu-like symptoms have plummeted by 80 per cent in Scotland over the space of a week, halved in Northern Ireland and a 20 per cent drop in England.
The outbreak has slowed in the past three weeks, despite widespread fears of an epidemic amid the rise of killer ‘Aussie’ and ‘Japanese’ strains of flu.
The figures, released today, follow the death of an 18-year-old engineering student who is believed to have succumbed to the effects of flu.
Melissa Whiteley, 18, from Hanford, Staffordshire, was placed in an induced coma in December, but did not recover and died on January 27.
Figures from PHE and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimate 4.9 per cent of people have been left suffering flu-like illness in the past week
But cases have peaked in all of the home nations and are on a rapid decline – except in Wales, where GPs are still being swamped by suspected cases
Commenting on the new figures, Richard Pebody, from Public Health England said: ‘We are continuing to see flu circulate, with signs that flu activity is stabilising.
‘Rates of vaccination across all those eligible for the vaccine have increased on last season and we have vaccinated an additional one and a half million people.
‘We are currently seeing a mix of flu types, including the A(H3N2) strain that circulated last winter in the UK and then in Australia and flu B.
‘It is important to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene and to get the vaccine if you are newly eligible.’
He said that it is approaching the ‘end of season’ for vaccines – which mirrors an instruction dished out to GPs by NHS England.
Health agencies for each of the home nations monitor ‘excess deaths’ – how many more people die than expected – to give a rough estimate of flu deaths.
However, Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency all provide data on how many have died in intensive care.
This means the death toll of 254 is likely to only be a fraction of the true number. A rough victim count will be tallied at some point later this year.
There were 16 new deaths recorded in England last week, and one was recorded in Scotland.
Some 215 deaths are believed to have struck England, 27 are known to have died in Scotland and 12 in Northern Ireland. No precise data exists for Wales
REVEALED: SIX OF THE UK VICTIMS WHO DIED FROM FLU DURING THE WINTER OF 2017/18
Melissa Whiteley, 18, passed away from flu on January 27 – after falling ill on Christmas Day.
The engineering student, from Hanford, Staffordshire, could barely walk when she was admitted to hospital.
She was placed in an induced coma but did not recover, her heartbroken twin sister revealed.
Miss Whiteley passed away at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester surrounded by her loved-ones – including her twin sister Megan – on January 27.
Coby Simons, nine, from Exeter, passed away on January 24 – two days after being struck down with the killer virus. His parents initially asked for his identity to be hidden.
Public Health England at the time confirmed the gifted maths pupil tested positive for flu. He becomes the sixth victim across the UK to have been named.
Tributes have flooded in for the year 5 pupil, who was shown to have influenza B in his post-mortem. He was described as ‘absolutely perfect’ by his parents.
His mother Louise told DevonLive: ‘He was just such a lovely boy. He was absolutely perfect; I wouldn’t have changed anything about him, not even when he was in a bad mood.’
Dylan Day, 12, died from flu, his heartbroken parents revealed.
The schoolboy, from Stoke-on-Trent, passed away after developing sepsis, triggered by a a strain of influenza B he was fighting, on January 20.
Tributes flooded in for the keen footballer, with family and friends describing him as an ‘amazing’ and ‘cheeky’ young boy who will be ‘greatly missed’.
Dylan’s mother Sarah announced his death in a poignant Facebook post, revealing he had ‘really suffered’ before his eventual death.
Bethany Walker, 18, died after taking ill at home – initially from flu symptoms which later developed into pneumonia.
Miss Walker, of Applecross, Scotland, was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died later on January 5.
Tributes poured in on social media. Her mother Heather Teale wrote on Facebook: ‘My beautiful Daughter Bethany Walker was taken from me.
Miss Walker wanted to study midwifery and was due to head for Aberdeen University later this year.
Melanie Coombs, 56, who defied her death sentence and beat terminal cancer three times died from ‘Aussie flu’.
Ms Coombs, from Hailsham, East Sussex, eventually succumbed to pneumonia and passed away in hospital shortly after Christmas.
Her grieving son, Anthony Butler, 30, believes the deadly H3N2 strain of influenza A, dubbed ‘Aussie flu’ was responsible for his mother’s eventual death.
Speaking about his ‘inspirational’ mother’s ordeal for the first time, he told Mirror Online: ‘She said, “cancer won’t kill me” – and she was right.
Owen Hardy, 95, from Chichester, lost his battle to the bug on January 4. His family said his death is a ‘huge loss for the nation’.
The World War II Spitfire veteran died after contracting one of the killer flu strains that is currently circulating the UK, his grieving daughter revealed.
During his time serving for the RAF in the war, the wing commander’s heroics saw him be awarded the top medal for valour – the Legion d’Honneur.
His heartbroken daughter, Debbie Elliott, told the Chichester Observer: ‘It’s a huge loss. We’re all devastated. He has left a huge gap in all of our lives.
Sean Hughes, from Dublin, died from the ‘flu’ on January 12, his heartbroken parents revealed days after.
The 15-year-old, who was an aspiring rapper, passed away in hospital after being rushed for emergency treatment the evening before.
Doctors were adamant Sean, known to his friends as Lil’ Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday.
Tributes flooded in for Sean, who was ‘loved by everyone’ and described as a ‘larger-than-life young man’ who was ‘way ahead of his years’.
Deaths have breached ‘statistically significant’ amounts in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland already this winter.
But excess deaths were only recorded in England and Northern Ireland during week five, which ended on February 4. It is the first week deaths haven’t breached the quota in Scotland.
Officials announce an epidemic when flu symptoms reported in GP consultations breach an amount per 100,000 patients, with each country having its own level.
- In England, 43.0 GP consultations per 100,000 report flu symptoms. An epidemic would be defined as breaching 108.9 per 100,000.
- In Scotland, 45.5 GP consultations per 100,000 report flu symptoms. An epidemic would be defined as breaching 418.9 per 100,000.
- In Northern Ireland, 29.0 GP consultations per 100,000 report flu symptoms. An epidemic would be defined as breaching 142.4 per 100,000.
- In Wales, 55.5 GP consultations per 100,000 report symptoms. An epidemic would be defined as breaching 75.4 per 100,000.
Figures from PHE and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimate 4.9 per cent of people have been left suffering flu-like illness in the past week.
This equates to around 3.2 million people in the UK – which has almost halved in the space of a week, according to the data released today.
The rocketing number of flu cases in the UK has been put down to a surge in four aggressive subtypes attacking the population simultaneously.
One includes the so-called ‘Aussie flu’, a strain of influenza A which triggered triple the number of expected cases in Australia during the country’s winter.
Experts fear the virulent H3N2 strain could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people.
Another is a strain of influenza B, called Yamagata and dubbed ‘Japanese flu’, which has been blamed for the majority of cases so far this winter.
Its rapid spread has raised concerns because it is not covered in a vaccine given to the elderly. However, experts claim it is less severe.
Usually, just one subtype, of either influenza A or B, is responsible for the majority of cases. The bug spreads easily in the cold weather.
Health bosses blamed the rapidly escalating cases of flu for their controversial decision to cancel 55,000 operations at the beginning of January.
The same move was also made by French officials as the European country also battled an epidemic of ‘exceptional magnitude’.
Flu is also ‘actively circulating’ in the US, and has gripped every state except Hawaii, according to the most recent data released by the CDC.
Nearly 12,000 people having been left hospitalised in France and more than 30 dead from the same strains of flu circulating the UK
Australia – whose winter occurs during the British summer – had one of its worst outbreaks on record, with two and a half times the normal number of cases.
Some of the country’s A&E units had ‘standing room only’ after being swamped by more than 100,000 cases of the H3N2 strain.
The elderly with their compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible, and a spike in cases among young children has also been shown.
The flu season in the UK and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere tends to mirror what has happened in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
The same strains of the virus will circulate north in time for the British flu season, which typically begins in November and lasts until March.
Flu viruses are constantly changing proteins on their surface to avoid detection by the body’s immune system – making it more deadly.
This transformation is called an ‘antigenic shift’ if it’s large enough, and can lead to a pandemic. This was responsible for the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
The Aussie flu is transforming quickly, but not fast enough for experts to describe it as a shift. However, it is slowly building up immunity.
Some of the country’s A&E units had ‘standing room only’ after being swamped by more than 100,000 cases of the H3N2 strain