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South Australia's Christmas season flu spike

South Australia's Christmas season flu spike

South Australia's Christmas season flu spike

The number of reported flu cases is soaring in South Australia, almost ten-fold the number reported last summer.

A total of 117 cases have been reported since the start of December, compared to around a dozen at the same time last year.

Angela Marshall has spent the past two weeks in bed sick, and said she could have never guessed it was the flu at this time of year.

“This is the first day I’ve been out because of this nasty cough,” Ms Marshall said.

“I didn’t have a flu injection this year, which made it worse.”

General practitioner Rod Pearce said doctors can also be at risk of thinking the flu symptoms might not be the flu, just because it is summer.

“It’s also important for clinicians to actually consider it when people are presenting unwell,” he said.

While the cold weather might be behind us, health authorities say people should not let their guard down.

They say the flu can spread just a quickly in summer and people should be doing what they can to protect themselves.

Most of the recent cases have been Influenza B, and more than 30 per cent of those have been children.

“We talk about children being flu factories, they seem to shed more and they spread it easier because of their age and their hygiene,” Dr Pearce said.

Doctors have urged people to get a flu shot to make sure they have a flu-free Christmas.