The NHS remains on high alert for the flu, health bosses say, even as there are clear signs the surge in the virus has subsided, at least for now.
Community spread appears to have stabilized UK Health Safety Agency says, while the rise in hospital cases has also slowed.
And with just over 3,000 patients in hospital in England with the virus, NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackay’s gloomy prediction of “between 5,000 and 8,000” cases has not come true.
The big difference between the 2025 flu season and the past three years is that the virus started spreading a few weeks earlier than normal.
When someone with flu-like symptoms goes to the doctor or hospital, a swab can be taken and tested for flu, Covid, RSV and other viruses.
UKHSA then records the percentage of tests that come back positive for flu and the numbers had risen rapidly in the autumn and early winter.
But over the past week, the spread of the virus appears to have stabilized at a moderate level, UKHSA say.
It’s too early to tell if this marks the start of the peak, as flu is unpredictable; a pause can be followed by a new wave.
The name ‘super flu’ is being used by the NHS to describe this latest outbreak.
But that’s not a medical term, and it doesn’t mean the virus itself has suddenly become more dangerous or harder to treat.
“It’s misleading and a bit frightening to call it a super flu; it’s just a flu strain that is clearly slightly more contagious than normal,” said Prof. Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick.
“What we are seeing is a flu season that may be two to three weeks earlier than normal,” he assured about the spread of the flu.
