Kiwis are being hit hard by this year's flu, and more than 180 people a week are so sick they need hospital treatment. Auckland DHB's chief nursing officer Margaret Dotchin said flu admissions for Auckland City Hospital were vastly up from 2016. "We had the busiest July ever this year, with 136 influenza hospital admissions recorded, compared to 41 in July 2016. "The flu season this year is very different to last year - it has come much earlier and with vastly greater numbers." Sherwood said last year's flu season was so low because there wasn't much change in the flu strain from previous years meaning many people were immune.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 05, 2017 22:07 UTC