Warning deaths from flu could reach historical high
Epidemiologist Michael Baker warns that influenza-related deaths in New Zealand could reach record highs this year due to high hospitalization rates. While vaccination efforts have helped, the severity of the current season remains a significant public health concern.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing burden of seasonal respiratory illnesses on healthcare systems and the importance of public health communication.
Deaths from influenza could reach historically high levels this year.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said data so far, including high hospitalisation rates, pointed to a likely big increase in the number of fatalities.
However, that would not be known for sure until the end of the year.
On average, influenza was responsible for about 500 deaths a year.
But that figure was not straightforward to arrive at, and relied on modelling.
That was because there could be multiple factors in a person's death which were not always recorded as the primary cause.
Baker said one example was that a person could die of a heart attack but the heart attack would never have happened if they had not had influenza.
Data such as the number of calls to healthline and the number of hospitalisations were used to show how much flu was circulating.
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