Flu outbreak later than normal

WARMER winter weather left hospitals reporting fewer cases of flu and outbreaks appearing later, but March is making up for it now with flu cases doubling in a week.

Alicante’s Hospital de Sant Joan said they were hospitalising two or three patients each week with influenza, but now it has spiked to six or seven a week. Health officials attribute this increase to the recent drop in temperatures.

The hospital is operating the emergency department at full capacity and is opening up part of the hospital that closed two years ago. However, Alicante’s General Hospital said their figures are slightly down on the same time last year and currently have between 26 and 28 patients admitted with flu, but they did admit that the acute phase of influenza in 2016 “is occurring now, a month late compared to last year.”

This year’s flu campaign in the Valencia Region saw almost 265,000 flu vaccinations administered.