Doctors say it's not too late for a flu shot as the ACT stares down record influenza cases
The National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System shows there have been 4,020 ACT influenza cases this year to July 15, compared to 2,491 over the same period last year.
The territory's current worst year on record for flu cases was 2024, with 4,837 cases.
The ACT president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Kerrie Aust, said although the figures were high, they did not show the full extent of flu in the community.
"The numbers that we see in the statistics generally reflect those who are sick enough to be attending for formal PCR testing either at a general practice or a hospital," she said.
Dr Aust said most of her colleagues had had their same-day or emergency appointments filled with patients experiencing symptoms common in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
"Most people are reporting that they are getting a sore throat, productive cough. Occasionally, we see people getting quite significant either viral or secondary bacteria pneumonias.
"But the thing people are complaining most about is a really, really significant fatigue.
"So, we do encourage if people are sick to stay home, to rest, to make sure that they are staying well-hydrated, and of course, to seek medical care if they're concerned about their symptoms," Dr Aust said.
The AMA said Canberra's hospitals were also experiencing increased numbers of influenza, with elderly people most affected.
Canberra GP Mel Deery said it was not too late to get a flu vaccine.
"Even if you have had the flu, it's still definitely worth getting the vaccine. The vaccine does protect against two strains of flu, A and B, so it might protect you in the future from another strain that is circulating.
"We've certainly had a really big spike in the last couple of weeks. Sometimes that spike might last through July, August, and be coming down in September, but every year is different, so it's really hard to know when we're going to peak," Dr Deery said.
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