Friday 1 July 2022 01:54 AM Experts fear an early wave of flu could combine this year with monkeypox and ... trends now
Britain should brace for an early flu outbreak that will coincide with increasing Covid and monkeypox cases, a top expert has warned.
Health officials have said they are expecting an 'early influenza wave' in the UK because there has not been a 'proper' flu season since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said she is watching Australia - currently in its winter season - 'very carefully' after a strain of influenza 'started early and spread fast across all age groups'.
She said the country is 'having its worst flu season in five years', which could replicate in the UK as early as September.
Meanwhile, Dr Hopkins added that we will see at least one more Covid wave later this year partnered with an 'ongoing transmission of monkeypox'.
There are also mounting fears that the NHS will be struck down at the same time by Covid, with colder weather and darker evenings leading to increased social contact indoors — where viruses find it easier to spread.
Flu is a seasonal menace on the NHS, with outbreaks more likely between September and March because colder weather forces more people indoors where the virus — like Covid — finds it easier to spread.
But influenza virtually disappeared last winter amid lockdowns aiming to control the spread of Covid.
Britain should brace for an early flu outbreak that will coincide with increasing Covid and monkeypox cases, a top expert has warned (file image)
Health officials have said they are expecting an 'early influenza wave' in the UK because there has not been a 'proper' flu season since the start of the Covid pandemic
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said we will see at least one more Covid wave later this year partnered with an 'ongoing transmission of monkeypox'
Experts are now concerned
