With the influenza seasons in the Southern Hemisphere often portending what will follow in the Northern Hemisphere, we can likely expect a season that is long-lasting and widespread.
- New Zealand’s influenza season typically runs from May to October, but recent years have shown respiratory illnesses to peak early in June or July, then continue to circulate at high levels as it heads into spring in November.
- Australia’s flu season also peaked early this year and grew rapidly, with widespread transmission making it one of the most severe in recent history.
There are some other indicators of a potentially Severe Season
- Japan’s early spike in flu cases caused school closures and a high number of hospitalizations, particularly among children, which caused health authorities to declare an influenza epidemic.
- Hong Kong’s high influenza activity among children led its Centre for Health Protection (CHP) to urge the public to promptly receive seasonal influenza vaccination.
As the flu season gets underway in the US, Canada, and other Northern Hemisphere countries, TAG reiterates Hong Kong’s health advisory on vaccination for both adults and children. Not only have Southern Hemisphere countries seen more illnesses, but the illnesses, particularly among children, have been more severe, leading to serious illness and even death.
With fewer Americans opting for vaccinations, former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, stated, “We can expect a difficult fall and winter for the US when the combination of COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus encounter a population with low vaccination rates.”
Because of this, TAG advises businesses to encourage its employees to be vaccinated, allowing for time off or even sponsoring a flu shot clinic. The more people who are vaccinated, the less ability the virus has to spread. Most insurances enable free vaccination at pharmacies, doctor’s offices, etc.
Public Health News:
- In addition to what we reported last week about an early start to the influenza season in Japan, it appears that the same is true in Hong Kong. As of Oct 23, 2025, they are reporting at least 14 severe cases in children, including one fatality since school started last month. They have issued an urgent call to the public to seek out vaccines, which are provided free of charge.
- Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have authored a study demonstrating a drop in children’s peanut allergies after new guidelines that recommended early feeding of peanut to infants as young as 4 months. Their work found a 27% decrease in peanut allergies and a 38% decrease in overall food allergies compared to the pre-guideline period.
- A new study raises the possibility that asymptomatic dairy workers could transmit H5N1 to their pet cats. Since previous investigations on farms have revealed the presence of dead cats as the first signal of an H5N1 outbreak, this new work suggests that the same could be true in at-home settings.
- Likewise, another study suggests the high susceptibility of house cats to COVID-19 from their humans and suggest potential value of routine surveillance in house cats for SARS-CoV-2.
- The USDA APHIS reports that highly pathogenic avian flu detection in wild birds have increased in the recent days. Additionally, APHIS is reporting that almost 7 million farmed poultry have been infected and depopulated, since September. This includes about 1.3 million turkeys which could affect the Thanksgiving supply. Vigilance is urged among those with animal contact, but with decreased resources at the CDC it could be more difficult to detect potential human cases.
- A new study led by George Washington University and Kaiser Permanente Southern California identified that nearly 1 in 5 urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Southern California may be linked to E. coli from food-producing animals.
