That Time the 2018 Flu Killed 20,000 People Inside a Month in the UK Alone and Nobody Noticed
No face diapers, no martial law
The killer flu outbreak is to blame for a 42 per cent spike in deaths across England and Wales, statisticians claim.
Government figures reveal 64,157 people died in January – significantly higher than the death toll of 45,141 recorded in December.
It is the highest number since records began in 2006 – and only the second time it has breached 60,000.
‘Circulating influenza’ was blamed in the report, released today and compiled using data of deaths from each region.
It showed deaths were higher than levels recorded during the Swine flu pandemic in 2010 – considered the worst outbreak in recent years.
The Office for National Statistics report showed a similar trend in deaths was seen in all nine regions of England and Wales itself.
It read: ‘Circulating influenza is likely to be a contributing factor in the high number of deaths registered in January 2018.’
Some 10,011 deaths were recorded in the South East, followed by 8,625 in the North West and 7,110 in the East of England.
At the other end of the scale, 3,503 people died in the North East in January, 3,945 in Wales and 5,401 in the East Midlands.
Latest figures show the flu outbreak has killed at least 271 people, but this is likely to be an underestimate because it only counts for confirmed hospital deaths.
The outbreak, fuelled mainly by an aggressive B/Yamagata strain (Japanese flu) and H3N2 (Aussie flu), has now tailed off.
However, it is currently still more prevalent in England and Wales than it was back in December, when the outbreak began to take off.
Why do deaths spike in winter?
Deaths usually spike in the winter because of the cold weather – which forecasters expect to last for another couple of weeks.
But the last time more than 60,000 people died in a month was January 2015 – when an aggressive flu outbreak triggered a surge of deaths.
Around 16,000 deaths were blamed on the killer virus across that winter. In contrast, only 577 fatalities were recorded in the previous winter.
Not all of the excess deaths this year will be down to influenza, but it is likely to have played a role in a significant amount.
Why was this year so severe?
The rocketing number of flu cases in the UK and across the world was put down to a surge in four aggressive subtypes attacking the population simultaneously.
One included H3N2, which triggered triple the number of expected cases in Australia during the country’s winter. It had one of its worst outbreaks on record.
Experts feared the virulent strain could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people.
The flu season in the UK and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere tends to mirror what has happened in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
The same strains of the virus circulate north in time for the British flu season, which typically begins in November and lasts until March.
However, the UK was also hit by B/Yamagata, which has been blamed for the majority of cases so far this winter.
Its rapid spread has raised concerns because it is not covered in a vaccine given to the elderly. However, experts claim it is less severe.
Usually, just one subtype, of either influenza A or B, is responsible for the majority of cases. The bug spreads easily in the cold weather.
Avoiding detection
Flu viruses are constantly changing proteins on their surface to avoid detection by the body’s immune system – making it more deadly.
This transformation is called an ‘antigenic shift’ if it’s large enough, and can lead to a pandemic. This was responsible for the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
Health agencies for each of the home nations monitor ‘excess deaths’ – how many more people die than expected – to give a rough estimate of flu deaths.
However, Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency all provide data on how many have died in intensive care.
Deaths have risen to a ‘statistically significant’ amount across the UK already this winter – and remain above expected in England and Northern Ireland.
Why Was H3N2 Called Aussie Flu? How Australia Was Rocked by the Killer Strain That Spread To UK, US and Europe
Australia – whose winter occurs during the British summer – had one of its worst outbreaks on record, with two and a half times the normal number of cases.
Some of the country’s A&E units had ‘standing room only’ after being swamped by more than 100,000 cases of the H3N2 strain. [That would be 100,000 actual clinical cases, not test positives.]
The elderly with their compromised immune systems were particularly susceptible, and a spike in cases among young children occured.
The flu season in the UK and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere mirrors what that of Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
The same strains of the virus will circulate north in time for the British flu season, which typically begins in November and lasts until March.
Flu viruses are constantly changing proteins on their surface to avoid detection by the body’s immune system – making it more deadly.
This transformation is called an ‘antigenic shift’ if it’s large enough, and can lead to a pandemic. This was responsible for the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
The Aussie flu is transforming quickly, but not fast enough for experts to describe it as a shift. However, it is slowly building up immunity.
Source: The Daily Mail
Yes indeed, People use the mainstream media as their only source of information and they never question it. They believe it to be absolutely true and could never doubt it. These people that wear masks constantly even in their cars look spooky. And yes I agree with Jimmy, people are nasty and have lowered their standards. They team up on others and do what they can to poison a persons attitude. They bait others until their BS finally gets a reaction and then they act as if their target is hostile or, crazy. I like a fool am always there to help. I never expect any return however a hostile or belligerent attitude certainly shows the immoral state that this nation has descended into.Nearly everything that to me is important is attacked belittled and shot down. Things such as Origin, physical characteristics talent, beauty, craftsmanship, even giving a damn just do not seem to be popular. Everything backward and upside down. I do believe that most people do have a high standard. They however choose to remain silent. This silence has allowed this latest scandal to move forward. This behavior has been taught by the Media in their sitcoms and comedy. Everywhere you see the repetition. The businesses have the same setups as what is portrayed on the news and other television shows. You have a white woman and a black man front center, then a white man that is an idiot, behind that there is the elderly white man somewhat out of touch and irrelevant. This low IQ negro assumes the lead role. This is all part of the agenda. What the white woman doesn’t understand is even though she believes she is discriminated against like the Negro, she is in fact putting herself in a victim position. Any move to decimate the white man by crossing over also eliminates her as well. One generation and her bloodline is gone. They don’t even realize this. They think their offspring will be the same and it will never be the same again. The White Western man is the most discriminated against. The truth is The White Western man is the best of all. Now when I look up the Israel Cohen plan the plan is tagged as a hoax like all the other things that are true have been censored, however just below the lies I find these newspaper articles. The truth cannot be hidden. And a Bastard will not enter the congregation even after ten generations. That is in King James 1611. A bastard is a kid that is from a mixed racial incident. And their characteristics certainly change for at least ten generations. I know these people are different, so do they know it themselves. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/rbml/lehman/pdfs/0794/ldpd_leh_0794_0139.pdf
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Not to worry,,, Corona has killed off most diseases, including heart attacks, cancer, flu, colds, etc.
How many clues do the morons today need to realize this virus is a con…..
50 million die every year,,, of something. We can’t live forever.
People have gone completely dumb, it seems. I can’t speak authoritatively for other countries, but it seems to me that Americans are far more gullible, less knowledgeable, and much more conformist than they used to be. They are also more emotional and violent and aren’t nearly as classy and gracious as they once were. Sad to watch.