Last year the flu season was a late one - it didn't take hold until spring - but this year it is early and it is a vicious virus: the H1N1 strand, or swine flu, that caused a pandemic in 2009.
It still feels like summer in Hawke's Bay, but the flu has arrived early with a vengeance. One patient is in a coma and three others in intensive care.
And it is not just the Bay; Geraldine, in south Canterbury, has been swamped by swine flu too.
"The virus may well have been introduced by tourists, moving through that community," says virologist Dr Lance Jennings.
In Wellington doctors have reported seeing one or two cases each week for the past few months. One of those wound up in ICU.
It is the same H1N1 virus that infected hundreds of New Zealanders in 2009.
So why now, when the flu season typically peaks June, July? For that, we can blame Australia.
"This is unusual for this virus; however, this year Australia are reporting a similar effect, with increased influenza activity in Queensland, and most states are reporting these numbers of people being admitted to hospital from influenza," says Dr Jennings.
The message from health professionals is as it is every year: get your jab early. It is free for those most at risk, including pregnant women, those over 65 and people with certain medical conditions.
"Influenza can be a serious disease. The best protection against it is to receive a seasonal influenza vaccine."
The flu shot is also free to under-fives who have had a significant history of or have been hospitalised for a respiratory illness and in Canterbury to under-18s, as part of a post-quake and post-flooding health initiative.
3 News
source: newshub archive
