-
The number of flu cases in England this winter has plummeted to levels not seen in more than 130 years.
-
New data published by the Sunday Times show that the prevalence of flu is about 95% lower than normal.
-
Experts believe that the cases are low due to continued blocking restrictions and measures of social distance.
-
Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in England this winter, the number of people suffering from the flu has plummeted to levels not seen in more than 130 years, experts told the Sunday Times.
Medical experts said the flu appears to have been “almost completely eliminated” after rates plummeted by 95%.
According to data obtained by the Times, the number of those who reported influenza-like illnesses to their GPs was 1.1 per 100,000 people, compared with an average five-year rate of 27.
The data are for the second week of January, which is usually the peak of the flu season, when thousands of people are hospitalized.
The number of hospitalizations for flu in England in England was zero in mid-January.
“I can’t think of a year when this happened,” Simon de Lusignan, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, told the Times.
Read More: Variants of the coronavirus threaten to halt the pandemic’s progress. See how the 4 largest vaccine manufacturers are reacting.
John McCauley, director of the World Health Organization’s collaborating center in London, told the Times that the collapse in numbers was “unprecedented”.
But while that may be good news overall, some scientists who are developing a vaccine for next year’s flu season are struggling because of the few samples that now need to work.
“It’s a nightmare to find out what’s next,” said McCauley. “If you have had no flu for a year, your immunity will have decreased. It could get worse.”
Experts previously said that flu rates were lower this year due to continued blocking restrictions and measures of social detachment.
The low number of flu in the country offers a big difference for coronavirus cases.
Nearly 4 million people have contracted the virus in the UK since the pandemic began and more than 105,000 have died, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
The country, which has been in a third blockade since early January, has been aggressively implementing vaccines. More than 8 million people have already received their first dose, according to a government website.
Read the original article on Business Insider