Aussie flu crisis set to get WORSE as super spreader kids go back to school

The virus spreads more easily with children back at school and less than half of eligible youngsters have had the flu jab.The deadly H3N2 strain is feared to have spread to almost all parts of the UK, following a surge in flu cases over the weekend.Dorchester in Dorset and the City of London were last night the only places where no one has yet reported an “influenza-like illness” - with churches even banning handshakes in an attempt to curb the spread of infection.Some 4.5million people are thought to have been struck down by flu over the past week, according to the online tool FluSurvey.And experts have now warned that kids returning to school after Christmas is set to accelerate the spread of the virus.Yet, less than half of eligible youngsters have had the flu jab, with just 44.4per cent of eight to nine-year-olds vaccinated in the latest figures, released by Public Health England last week.Kids are known as "super-spreaders" because they pick up and pass on infections to their family.Leading flu expert, professor Jogn Oxford, a virologist from Queen Mary University of London, said: "Now is the danger period."With the situation in France and children going back to school, it could well be a double-whammy and fuel further cases."Common sense will tell you that with large numbers travelling backwards and forwards from France, we may see more cases."And kids are very good at picking up infections from each other and then passing them on at home."It's not the best situation to have simultaneously." In France, the Ministry of Health issued an alert, warning "the influenza epidemic is of an exceptional magnitude, by the number of cases, which risks exceeding those of the last two years", adding the epidemic has yet to reach its peak.Around 12,000 people visited French emergency departments with flu during Christmas week, while 1,250 were kept in for treatment - and the virus has claimed more than 30 lives across the Channel already.Meanwhile figures from the NHS show that 1,078 people have been admitted to hospital with flu since October across 19 NHS trusts - of those 252 people were diagnosed with "Aussie flu", a new mutation of the virus.It means across the UK around 3,800 people are thought to have ended up in hospital with flu - with about 1,000 of those thought to be battling the "Aussie" H3N2 strain.Professor Robert Dingwall, a flu expert at Nottingham Trent University told The Sun Online the UK must brace itself for the flu crisis to "get worse before it gets better".While it's still early in the flu season, he warned "we have good reason to think it could be the worst winter for ten to 15 years, if not decades"."GPs are seeing a lot more flu after opening again after Christmas," he said."We have every reason to suppose we will see more cases probably more severe cases, and probably more deaths." He warned the NHS is facing an unprecedented challenge, and urged businesses to have contingency plans ready, as the number of cases is expected to