Hospitals see sixfold jump in cases

The number of people admitted to hospitals in England with influenza in the first week of this year was six times higher than during the same period last year.

In total, 758 people were hospitalized this year with confirmed flu cases, according to Public Health England. There were 110 during the same week in 2017.

There was also a rise in visits to general practitioners from people with flu-like illnesses, up from 18.8 per 100,000 people during the first week last year to 37.3 this year.