UK hospitals bracing for once-in-a-decade flu surge this winter

"Hospitals are bracing for a once-in-a-decade flu season, with a mutated version of the virus that is spreading widely in younger people expected to drive a wave of admissions when it reaches the elderly. The threat has prompted NHS managers to redouble efforts to vaccinate staff and communities, expand same-day emergency care and treat more patients in the community to reduce the need for hospital stays."

"Scientists first spotted the mutated version of the flu virus in June. Genetic analysis shows it is a descendant of a strain that this year fuelled Australia's worst flu season on record. The country recorded more than 400,000 lab-confirmed cases, with low vaccination rates compounding the problem. The mutated virus, which changed through a natural process called antigenic drift, has swiftly become the dominant strain in the UK, triggering the start of the flu season more than a month earlier than usual."

Hospitals are preparing for a potentially once-in-a-decade flu season driven by a mutated influenza strain spreading rapidly among younger people and expected to reach older, vulnerable populations. NHS managers are intensifying staff and community vaccination campaigns, expanding same-day emergency care, and increasing community-based treatment to limit hospital admissions. Contingency plans include calling consultants and additional staff for extra shifts and rescheduling non-urgent appointments amid a five-day resident doctors' strike. Genetic analysis links the mutation to a strain that caused Australia's worst season, and antigenic drift has made it the dominant, early-starting strain in the UK.

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