European flu season starts

Europe's influenza season has opened, according to the European Influenza Surveillance Scheme and the Stockholm, Sweden-headquartered European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The two organizations confirm an upsurge in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus in several European Union countries.

To date, 13 European nations have reported significant influenza activity (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK). The increased activity is likely to spread and, if the virus behaves as in previous years, it will gradually move eastwards and northwards during the coming weeks, the ECDC said.

The agency estimates that seasonal influenza is responsible for between 40,000 and 220,000 excess deaths in Europe each year, depending upon the strain's virulence. This year's outbreak has been predominantly caused by a new strain of the A(H1) influenza virus, usually associated with mild epidemics.