The deadly ‘Aussie flu’ virus has spread to five more UK towns in the past 24 hours as it moves rapidly across the country.
Perthsire, Inverness, Preston, Glasgow and Midlothian – previously untouched – have now all reported cases of the dangerous new H3N2 strain of Influenza A.
The NHS is braced for one of the worst flu seasons in 50 years after a surge in infections in the UK, with hotspots being Plymouth, Doncaster and Belfast.
Areas unaffected by the flu are rapidly diminishing, with only Dorchester, the Brecon Beacons area, Telford, Dartford and the City of London having no reported cases.
The deadly ‘Aussie flu’ virus has now spread to five more UK towns in the past 24 hours, with cases of the H3N2 strain reported in Perthsire, Inverness, Preston, Glasgow and Midlothian. Only a handful of areas in the UK remain untouched by the virus (see above)
Cases of the dangerous flu were significantly fewer on Thursday, with Plymouth hit the hardest by the bug, according to the online FluSurvey map. The number of affected areas has dramatically increased in the last 48 hours
However, the online FluSurvey map, which updates every three minutes, relies on self-reported data from patients, meaning the true figure is likely to be much higher.
Plymouth has been hit the hardest, with 14 new cases in the past three weeks, according to Public Health England figures.
At least 1,649 people have been struck down by the potentially deadly strain in England and Wales within a week over the Christmas period.
UFC fighter Conor McGregor, pictured with his baby boy Conor Jr, was among those struck down by the bug during the festive period
A further 112 patients were admitted to non-emergency hospital wards – an increase from a mere five the week before.
Some 17 people in England and Wales were admitted to intensive care in the past week, according to a government report.
And fears of fatalities have been growing after the lethal virus claimed its first victims in Ireland.
Experts fear the virulent flu strain could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people.
Cases of the dangerous new H3N2 strain of Influenza A are pushing the NHS to its limit, with 55,000 operations being cancelled as hospitals sturggle to cope with a surge in patients
Flu kills an average of 8,000 people every year in England and Wales, but experts previously warned that this number could rise significantly if the Aussie flu struck.
Some 55,000 operations have been cancelled as hospitals struggle to cope with a surge in patients.
Doctors are cancelling holidays and working late into the night to try to manage the demand after being told to keep patients out of hospitals as the NHS struggles.
The soaring cases, which jumped by 48 per cent over the space of a week, has been blamed for adding extra pressure onto an already stretched health service.
Public Health England shows the killer virus has left 1,078 in hospital – a quarter of which because of so-called ‘Aussie flu’
Yesterday a British mum told of her horrific experience with the illness.
She originally thought it was a hangover after drinking too much prosecco, but quickly realised it was much more serious after it left her bed-bound for five weeks.
Natalie Shand, 39, who said her body ached all over, told the Mirror: ‘I was bedbound for six days in total.
‘Then I was OK for two weeks and then by December 23 it knocked me off my feet again for hours at a time.
‘I had it for five weeks.’
Middlesbrough mum Paula Kay, who started suffering symptoms on Boxing Day, believes she picked up the bug while working on a panto.
The 36-year-old said she first had a tight chest and lost her voice, before developing a dry cough and trouble with her sinuses.
‘I would say the pain is about a six out of ten – but I have a high pain threshold,’ she said.
‘I’ve had to force myself to eat and I just felt wiped out.
‘I would do a few little jobs around the house ad it felt like a week’s work.
‘On one day I just kept falling asleep and spent about 24 hours on the sofa.
‘I’ve had worse but I’ve never known flu last this long.’
‘I thought I was surrounded by Minions’ – one dad’s battle with the deadly bug causing chaos in the UK
Simon Ereira, 36, thought he was surrounded by the Despicable Me characters during his frightening battle with the deadly illness sweeping the UK
A dad struck down with ‘Aussie flu’ became so delirious he believed he was surrounded by minions.
Simon Ereira, 36, has been battling the deadly bug since Boxing Day and said it was one of the worst things he’d ever had.
And his fever-induced hallucinations even convinced him he was seeing the mischievous Despical Me characters.
The Stockton-on-Tees resident spent a whole day in the bathroom vomiting after suffering ‘wrenching’ stomach pain.
‘The headache was the worst, to the point lights had to be off in any room,’ he told GazetteLive.
‘I slept on and off for majority of it and got a very severe fever, where I spent one night in my living room trying to figure why I had Minions in the room with me, and another where I had three relatives sitting on the sofa with me, all three of which have passed.
‘That was the point I thought I was a goner.’
He added: ‘I had one night of intense pain where I actually sat in the loo in tears.
‘It just removed any ounce of energy from you.’
Teesside was recently named one the UK hotspots for the bug.