‘Aussie flu’ symptoms are more severe than swine flu – but fears of a pandemic are ‘over the top’

DEADLY "Aussie flu"; is more severe than swine flu and will leave you feeling worse, experts said today.

It comes amid warnings the UK is facing its worst flu season for years.

Individuals struck down by the H3N2 bug are likely to feel more violently ill than those who battled swine flu during the pandemic of 2009-10.

But, the new strain does not appear to be as infectious as H1N1, so is unlikely to hit as many people.

Professor Robert Dingwall, flu expert at Nottingham Trent University, told The Sun Online fears of an "Aussie flu" pandemic are "over the top", while top virologist Prof John Oxford, from Queen Mary's University in London, added we are "definitely not dealing with a pandemic virus".

Prof Dingwall said: "The 2009 swine flu pandemic did infect a lot of people, but it wasn't very virulent.

"A lot of people did die, but 2009 was not the big bang it could have been.

"With 'Aussie flu' what seems to be happening, is that if you get it, it is worse on an individual level.

"People will likely feel worse than they did in 2009, with swine flu.

"But not as many people are getting it."

Fellow flu expert, Prof Oxford, also told The Sun Online: "We are dealing with an epidemic virus, and definitely not a pandemic one.

"Having said this, in the UK, we are not at epidemic level yet."

During the swine flu pandemic of 2009/10, 138 Brits lost their lives, after 540,000 cases were recorded. Across the world, 18,500 people died from swine flu, according to the World Health Organisation.

Prof Dingwall explained for a pandemic to happen there needs to be a "dramatic shift" in the flu virus - something that happens roughly every 20 to 40 years.

The last pandemic hit in 2009-10 when swine flu emerged in Mexico, while the deadly Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1918 claimed one million lives.

This is not what's happened with "Aussie flu", Prof Dingwall told The Sun Online.

"What we are seeing here is a drift, a minor change in the H3N2 virus to 'Aussie flu' that is a more virulent strain.

"But because other variations of H3N2 have already been circulating for some years, quite a lot of people will already have some resistance.

"Because of that, it doesn't really have the potential to become a pandemic, in terms of the scale of infection.

With ‘Aussie flu’ what seems to be happening, is that if you get it, it is worse on an individual level. But not as many people are getting it

Professor Robert DingwallNottingham Trent University

"A pandemic is when we see a shift, a really radical change that means the population has no real resistance to it.

"It seems that's what happened in 1918 with Spanish flu and 1956 with Asian flu."

Some 4.5million people are thought to have been struck down by flu over the past week, according to the online tool FluSurvey.

One in four hospital cases of flu are thought to be patients battling the "Aussie strain", with 17 people admitted to intensive care with the strain in the week before Christmas.

Prof Dingwall added: "Aussie flu is a nasty one to get.

"It's worse than your average flu, and it looks likely that this year will be at the bad end for a flu season."

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Earlier this week, Prof Oxford said kids going back to school and the flu epidemic in France means, "now is the danger period".

He told The Sun: "With the situation in France and children going back to school, it could well be a double-whammy and fuel further cases.

"Common sense will tell you that with large numbers travelling backwards and forwards from France, we may see more cases.

"And kids are very good at picking up infections from each other and then passing them on at home.

"It's not the best situation to have simultaneously."

Prof Dingwall echoed the pleas of experts at Public Health England who urged Brits to get the flu jab - adding: "it's not too late".

This year's vaccines both provide protection against a strain of H3N2 flu - a cousin to the "Aussie strain".

While not exactly the same as "Aussie flu", the strain included in this year's flu jab is from the same family - and as a result will give people some protection.

Aussie flu is a nasty one to get. It’s worse than your average flu, and it looks likely that this year will be at the bad end for a flu season

Professor Robert Dingwall

"The vaccine is still worth having," Prof Dingwall said.

"But it's not quite as good as if it had specifically targeted the exact strains circulating ("Aussie flu H3N2).

"If protection had been against the actual strain the vaccine would give a fairly high level of protection.

"Since it's not the exact strain, it's a better than 50/50 chance if you have the jab."

In France, the Ministry of Health issued an alert, warning "the influenza epidemic is of an exceptional magnitude, by the number of cases, which risks exceeding those of the last two years", adding the epidemic has yet to reach its peak.

Around 12,000 people visited French emergency departments with flu during Christmas week, while 1,250 were kept in for treatment - and the virus has claimed more than 30 lives across the Channel already.

Meanwhile figures from the NHS show that 1,078 people have been admitted to hospital with flu since October across 19 NHS trusts - of those 252 people were diagnosed with "Aussie flu", a new mutation of the virus.

It means across the UK around 3,800 people are thought to have ended up in hospital with flu - with about 1,000 of those thought to be battling the "Aussie" H3N2 strain.