A health system on life support
New Zealand's health system is facing extreme pressure due to a highly infectious variant of influenza, leading to record-high demand at clinics and hospitals. Medical experts emphasize that the sheer volume of infections, rather than the severity of the strain, is the primary cause of the current crisis.
Why it matters
High infection rates during seasonal outbreaks can overwhelm public health infrastructure, leading to staffing shortages and delayed care for other conditions.
It's "just the flu" is a phrase Dr Bryan Betty hears regularly in his clinic, and one he wishes people would stop saying.
Influenza A is spreading at extraordinary rates, filling GP clinics, after-hours centres and hospital emergency departments , and while this strain may not be producing more severe illness than usual, it is the sheer volume of those being infected that is the problem.
"What's unusual about this outbreak is the infectiousness of the outbreak", says Betty, a specialist GP who has been inundated with cases.
"It's a variant of influenza called subclade K, and what we know about it is it's highly infectious, so it spreads very easily."
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