Seasonal Flu - Leeds, Yorkshire
About 4,000 to 5,000 people in the UK die each year due to flu and this rises to about 12,000 during a flu epidemic (when the flu is widespread and affects many individuals in the population). In the UK most cases of flu occur between December and March.
Infected people can spread cold and flu viruses from a day before symptoms start and up to five days afterwards. On average, adults catch two to three colds each year. School-age children can have twelve or more colds in a year.
Very rarely, a new flu virus emerges. When this happens the virus may spread very rapidly across the world in a pandemic, because no one has any immunity to the new flu virus. However this does not always happen.
To most healthy adults, flu is just like a nasty cold. However, young children, the elderly and people with long-term illnesses are more likely to get complications.
Immunisation
The flu jab will provide you with good protection against the flu virus for one year. It only protects from human strains of the influenza virus (not avian influenza).
It is available free on the NHS for everyone over 65 and is recommended for people at risk from the complications of flu.