THE INFLUENZA rate for 15- to 64-year-olds rose last week to 121 per 100,000, making it the busiest season since a surveillance system was introduced in 2000/2001.
The latest influenza surveillance report shows how the worsening flu outbreak has begun to affect older people.
Accident and emergency departments have also signalled a rise in the number of over-65s with severe respiratory illness, resulting in increased pressure on intensive care beds.
An analysis of the latest influenza statistics from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows a continuing increase in the number of young and middle-aged people presenting with flu-like illnesses.
An influenza outbreak in a nursing home in the Health Service Executive (HSE) eastern region was also recorded last week, with 11 residents reported ill with flu-like symptoms.
Nationally, the number of cases of influenza-like illness in people aged 64 or over rose from 22 per 100,000 in the last week of December to 52 per 100,000 in the first week of January.
Dr Joan O’Donnell, specialist in public health medicine with the HPSC said: “As influenza-like illness rates are increasing and Influenza A is circulating, it is important that people in at-risk groups for influenza get vaccinated.”
This year’s flu vaccine contains the exact strain of Influenza A virus identified in Irish victims of the disease. At-risk groups include those over 65, people of any age with a chronic illness such as heart disease, asthma or diabetes, nursing home residents and healthcare workers. Those at risk have a greater chance of developing complications such as secondary bacterial pneumonia.
The majority of deaths from flu occur in the over 65s. It is estimated that 300 to 400 deaths occur in Ireland each year as a result of influenza and its complications.
Meanwhile, sources in a number of emergency departments have confirmed a significant increase in the number of patients, especially older people, with respiratory problems.
In some hospitals, the increase in the number of people with severe breathing difficulties has placed a particular pressure on intensive care unit (ICU) beds. As a result, some patients who require ventilation have had to be looked after in the emergency department, rather than the skilled environment of an ICU.