Flu season could start in 2023

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After recording low australian flu 2021 season and beyond Significant increase in 2022experts are preparing for what may come in 2023.


Given the Australian flu epidemic, Usually caused by returning international travelersA look back at the northern hemisphere flu season gives us a glimpse of what Australia can expect later this year.


Professor Ian Barr, Deputy Director of the Joint Center for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Doherty Institute, said: News GP Flu season has begun in the northern hemisphere.


“This is similar to what we saw during the 2022 flu season,” he said.


“Usually August is the peak, but last year there was a sharp decline in late May/early June. The US is seeing something similar.


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Influenza hospitalization rate At this point in the season, it’s four times higher than any season in the last ten years.


Germany saw a similar surge, Influenza infection confirmed The number of cases per week has increased from 3000 to 56,000 over the past month, with an average of 344 flu cases per day hospitalized in the UK last month. That’s more than ten times his number from last year.


U.S. media initially referred to the impending winter flu season as the “triple epidemic,” as it began with high rates of COVID, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).


However, the CDC describes the circulation of these viruses as: pointed Mid-December, on all three rates decrease over the next few weeks.


Professor Barr said a resurgence of flu epidemics in the northern hemisphere could see cases in Australia spike faster than usual.


“We also need to know what’s going on in the region. There’s an influenza epidemic in Fiji right now,” he said.


“It’s a numbers game and next season will depend on the world situation.


“Last year we saw imports as soon as the laws were eased, and the flu incidence in 2022 was high, not the highest ever, but in the top two or three of the last decade.


“There has been an increase in testing due to COVID, so that may explain the increase in numbers.”


Professor Barr said other virus peaks have also occurred recently in Australia.


“We had a high number of metapneumoviruses last winter, and some of them are still going on,” he said.


“It seems to recur every few years.”


WHO issued a recommendation Which strains should be included in the 2023 Southern Hemisphere influenza vaccine last September, driving Australia’s readiness for the upcoming season.


But while Professor Barr says having a vaccine ready early in the season would be an advantage, he’s unsure if it will be ready in time.


“Last year, the flu vaccine wasn’t available until April, so cases went up, so only a small fraction of people got vaccinated,” he said.


“Hopefully, it will be available earlier this year.”


in the meantime, Trial with Novavax Continues Australia and New Zealand are developing combined COVID and influenza vaccines. I also made a moderna mixed vaccine.


Neither will be available in 2023, but Barr expects COVID and flu vaccinations to once again form a major part of Australia’s defenses against the virus.


“I wouldn’t be surprised if they recommended a fifth dose of the COVID vaccine this year. Simultaneous vaccination with influenza vaccine is ideal,’ He said.


In the meantime, Professor Barr recommends that GPs stay informed about influenza vaccination recommendations and continue testing for respiratory viruses via multiplex PCR when possible.


“We hope that the regular respiratory multiplex will continue as it provides a lot of information. [public health] information,” he said.


He says expanding testing for respiratory viruses will provide valuable data on trends. Multiplex PCR assays for respiratory viruses can detect infectious diseases such as influenza, metapneumovirus, adenovirus, COVID, and RSV.


Influenza state and territory surveillance reports available onlineas well as the Australian Influenza Vaccine Board Recommendation For the 2023 quadrivalent and trivalent influenza vaccines.



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