The number of people hospitalised with influenza has increased by almost 60 per cent over the last two weeks as pressure on the health system continues to mount.
On Wednesday, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) published the latest figures for respiratory illnesses in the State, up to December 6th.
According to the infectious diseases watchdog, there were 2,944 cases of the flu notified in the State last week, up from 1,971 two weeks earlier – a 49 per cent increase.
A total of 657 patients were in hospital with the virus, up 58 per cent on the 415 cases notified at the end of November.
RM Block
The figures also show there were seven admissions into intensive care and one flu death reported by the HPSC that week. ICU admissions were down on the 17 the body reported two weeks earlier.
The highest number of cases reported last week were in children aged 0 to 14, who accounted for 1,022. This was followed by older adults – those aged 65+ who accounted for 797 cases.
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There were 50 outbreaks of flu last week, of which 48 were in healthcare and residential institutions. Of those within healthcare settings, 26 were in hospitals.
Health chiefs are concerned the hospital system will be under “significant pressures” in coming weeks due to the early arrival of the flu, which is expected to peak around Christmas time, at which point there could be up to 1,500 patients in hospital with the illness.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is also beginning to increase, with cases up almost a third to 368 over the last fortnight. Hospitalisations relating to RSV has also increased by 38 per cent, up from 87 to 120 cases last week.
RSV is another respiratory illness that most acutely affects young children, with the children’s hospitals reporting being under significant pressure in recent weeks due to the surge in these illnesses.
The health service has rolled out a vaccination programme against RSV for babies aged six months and younger, which is expected to reduce the impact this illness will have on the hospital system.
On Wednesday morning, there were 20 children waiting for a bed across the three Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) sites.
Kim Price, a clinical nurse manager at Temple Street children’s hospital emergency department, said the site is challenged by the rising number of children presenting with respiratory illnesses.
“Children will have to stay in the emergency department until a bed becomes available. It’s small, we don’t have a lot of single cubicles, it’s noisy. It’s not the ideal environment for somebody who is sick and you’re trying to get them better,” she said.
She added that the hospitals introduce a triage contingency plan to keep patients moving and to prioritise those whose illness is most acute.
The current flu strain in circulation – A(H3N2) subclade K – is particularly virulent, making it more infectious and more severe than those that circulated in more recent years.
The HSE has called on members of the public to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the virus.
There were 434 patients waiting on hospital trolleys for a bed on Wednesday morning, of whom 70 were waiting more than 24 hours.
