Why This Year's Flu Season Is So Bad That Some Schools Are Closing For 'Flu Days'

This year's flu season has been dominated by a particularly nasty bug.

Health officials say it has now reached almost every corner of the country. NHS is braced for the worst flu season in its history, amid fears that overcrowded hospitals will be unable to cope. The head of the health service has warned that “pressures are going to be real” as he warned that influenza levels are expected to be high.

Flu has reached epidemic levels, which it does every year.

But while experts say the flu season may have reached its peak, they warn it will take many more weeks for flu activity to truly slow down.

Twenty kids have died of the flu since October.

And in the week ending January 6, 22.7 out of every 100,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. were for flu—twice the number of the previous week.

Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s influenza branch said during a Friday press briefing.

"Flu is everywhere in the U.S. right now. This is the first year we've had the entire continental U.S. be the same color—referring to a map of the state-by-state estimate of flu activity."

"That color is brown, meaning the flu is widespread everywhere in the U.S. except for Hawaii and the District of Columbia."

Queensland has seen more hospital admissions than in the last five years.

mostly among an older population, while younger demographics more often test positive without needing hospitalization. Meanwhile, flu numbers in New Zealand and elsewhere in the Pacific have not matched the same elevated levels.

Simon Stevens said:

Australia and New Zealand - who are just coming out of their winter - have had a "heavy flu season" with many hospitals struggling to deal with demand. Australia has reported 98,000 confirmed cases of the flu this season - more than double the rate it was this time last year. There are also twice as many people hospitalized.

Most of the people who are hospitalized for the flu are over the age of 65.

Flu viruses are broadly grouped into two types: Influenza-A and Influenza-B.

Influenza-B viruses have two main sub-types while the Influenza-A viruses are more variable.

The Influenza-As you get each year are usually A/H3N2 (the main player so far this season) or A/H1N1, which lingers on from its 2009 "swine flu" pandemic.

Multiple flu viruses circulate each year and serial infections with different strains in the same person in a single season are possible.

A school who remained closed this past Friday was one in San Antonio, Texas.

The school posted this on their social media on Thursday: ATTENTION: Our campus will be closed on Friday, January 12 for a Flu Day through Monday, January 15 for the Martin Luther King Holiday. While closed, our school will be launching a Super Clean of each classroom for the health of our faculty, staff and students. All scheduled events/games/activities from Friday January 12 - Monday January 15 are cancelled. Stay well!

Other schools have also either voluntarily closed or have been forced to close due to excessive absences, including one in Hillsboro.

Illinois, that canceled school for two days in early December because around 23 percent of the students were out sick.

More recently, a school in North Carolina closed for two days

After 140 students, four teachers, and a school nurse were absent on the same day and another 21 students went home early due to flu-like symptoms.

If you feel sick, figure out if you have the flu or just a cold.

If it’s the flu, stay home if you can. Don’t go out and risk infecting others. Eat foods that can help you fight off the flu. Stay hydrated and keep warm. If you experience shortness of breath, trouble breathing, confusion, dizziness, chest or abdominal pain, get thee to the emergency room immediately.