GPs warn of earlier than usual 'severe' flu season in Australia
Experts are warning Australia is facing a severe flu season. (ABC Radio Canberra: Hannah Walmsley)
In short:
Doctors say the flu season may arrive and peak earlier this year.
More than 48,000 confirmed cases of influenza have already been recorded in Australia in 2025.
What's next?
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners says now is the time to get vaccinated.
Doctors say now is the best time to get a flu shot amid a surge in influenza cases across Australia.
The number of lab-confirmed flu cases recorded nationally between January and March this year was 59 per cent higher than the same time last year, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
RACGP president Michael Wright said the increase indicated an early start to the flu season.
"We are definitely telling people that the flu is circulating in the community," Dr Wright said.
"Now is the time to get your vaccine, particularly if you're a vulnerable person."
The advice was echoed by the Australian Medical Association, which said the best time to get a flu shot was from April onwards.
It came after the northern hemisphere experienced a significant influenza season, with some UK hospitals overwhelmed by the winter peak and the US recording the largest influenza season since the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
Michael Wright says it is the right time to get a flu shot. (Supplied: RACGP)
Timing matters
Dr Wright said the early spike in Australian cases was an ominous sign, and it was important to book in for a flu shot sooner rather than later.
He said a flu vaccine would remain effective for up to five months, taking recipients through to the end of the season.
"If you start getting it now, you'll have that immunity when we get to the peak flu season, which is around July/ August," Dr Wright said.
"That should protect people through that main spike that we're expecting."
More than 4,000 people were hospitalised in Australia with influenza last year.
Dr Wright said those in higher-risk groups should start talking to their GP about accessing free influenza vaccinations under the National Immunisation Program (NIP).
Doctors say Australia is facing a severe flu season. (ABC News: Freya Michie)
That includes people over 65, those with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, and children over six months and under five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
He said while a double shot of the flu vaccine was not routinely recommended, there were some groups that could benefit from a booster, including children over six months and those less than five years old.
'Unprecedented numbers'
The northern hemisphere has experienced a significant influenza season.
Louise Manning says there are concerns the 2025 influenza season could be severe. (Supplied: Rural Doctors Association of Australia)
Rural Doctors Association of Victoria president Louise Manning said it was worrying.
"I'm quite concerned as to what we might see as the weather gets cooler and [there are] more viruses spreading around," Dr Manning said.
She said strains that circulated during the northern hemisphere winter typically travelled south and impacted the Southern Hemisphere.
"They had unprecedented numbers of presentations of the flu," Dr Manning said.
And the impacts are already being felt across Australia.
"From where I'm working in a small regional town in central Victoria, we've seen almost an entire primary school knocked out with flu B about six weeks ago," Dr Manning said.
"We're quite concerned that, given the severity of symptoms and the number of hospitalisations in the northern hemisphere in their winter, that we'll have a similar picture here."