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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jon Henley

New flu strain putting severe pressure on healthcare across Europe, says WHO

Man being given the flu vaccine by a healthcare professional
The World Health Organization has called on people to get the flu vaccine, which lowers the risk of serious illness from the new strain. Photograph: Biel Aliño/EPA

An intense surge in flu cases driven by a newly dominant virus strain is sweeping across Europe, placing healthcare systems in several countries under severe pressure, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO said on Wednesday that at least 27 of the 38 countries in its European region were reporting “high or very high influenza activity”, with more than half of patients with flu-like symptoms testing positive in six countries including Ireland, Serbia, Slovenia and the UK.

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