HSE confirm 34 people have died from the flu this season

At least 34 people have died from the flu in Ireland this winter season, the HSE has said.

The latest figures released show that number of people who had the virus rose slightly last week. According to the HSE's public health specialist Dr Kevin Kelleher, a big part of this was due to more kids and adolescents coming down with the illness partially because of the back-to-school factor. While there was a slight increase, the rate of increase has also slowed down - and the number of out-of-hours calls to GP relating to the flu has decreased, too. Dr Kelleher said that Ireland is currently about midway through the winter flu season, at week six. It is expected to last for a total of twelve weeks. The flu season last year lasted approximately eight to nine weeks. It comes as the HSE revealed that this has been the fifth-worse flu season since the year 2000, when records began. Most of those who died from the disease suffered with underlying conditions, the HSE’s Assistant National Director of public health Dr Kevin Kelleher said last week. It has urged anyone whose child falls ill to keep them out of school for five days from when the symptoms first appear. Check out the rest of the official advice here.