Guardian At least 27 of 38 countries in WHO’s European region are reporting high or very high influenza activity, body says. An intense surge in flu cases driven by a newly dominant virus strain is sweeping across Europe, placing healthcare systems in several countries under severe pressure, the World Health Organization has said.
The WHO said on Wednesday that at least 27 of the 38 countries in its European region were reporting “high or very high influenza activity”, with more than half of patients with flu-like symptoms testing positive in six countries including Ireland, Serbia, Slovenia and the UK.
It said the flu season had begun roughly four weeks earlier than in previous years and urged populations to curb transmission by getting vaccinated, staying home if unwell, and wearing a mask in public if they had respiratory symptoms.
The WHO said the new seasonal flu variant – A(H3N2) sub-clade K – was driving the infections, accounting for up to 90% of all confirmed flu cases in the European region, but added that there was no evidence it was causing more severe disease.