Cape Town - For most people, getting the flu usually means a few days in bed with a runny nose, stuffy head and some aches and pains.
But local doctors say this year’s influenza strains are more severe, are far more resistant to over-the-counter medication and often result in serious complications, including pneumonia and bronchitis.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirms that this year there were a high number of severe flu cases, but the numbers of regular flu cases were starting to come down.
Just how severe is this year’s flu?
According to Dr Louis Botha, a GP at Netcare Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital, it’s worse than in previous years.
“Often the flu symptoms go away within a few days, but this year’s flu has been really more severe than in the past. We had to hospitalise a significant number of patients who present to us rather too late when they had developed complications such as pneumonia and other chest infections. We have seen a lot of H1N1 flu strains too, and often these patients tend to be sicker and very serious by the time they come to us,” he said.
Dr Solly Lison, who runs a private practice in Sea Point, agreed.
“This year’s flu definitely has been much stronger than the previous few years. A lot of patients we see don’t seem to have immunity against flu. While we usually see complications mostly in elderly people and those with compromised immune systems, strangely this year’s flu is affecting just everybody and it seems more severe to everyone.”
Lison warned people not to self-medicate, saying most flu cases developed complications as a result.
Dr Cheryl Cohen, of the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis at the NICD, said there was no need to panic.
“Influenza is a seasonal disease... what we are seeing this year is well within the range of the normal flu season.
“Yes, the numbers are higher than those we saw in the past two years, but there is no cause for alarm.
“In fact the numbers are starting to come down now. The peak was about five weeks ago.”
Cohen also confirmed that the H1N1 strain – swine flu – was the predominant strain, accounting for more than 50 percent of flu cases, but said the strain had stabilised and was treated as any other normal seasonal flu strain.
Other flu strains doing the rounds were H3N2 and Influenza B.
Cape Argus