Australia is being struck by a surge in respiratory illnesses, with record breaking inter-seasonal flu cases since the start of the year.
However, flu remains the “underdog of infectious diseases”, in that people underestimate its severity, and as a result vaccinations rates remain stubbornly low, Prof Julie Leask from the University of Sydney says.
What are the case numbers and how can you protect yourself?
How many cases are there?
In 2025 there had been 83,402 flu cases nationally, as of Tuesday, according to the government’s national notifiable diseases surveillance system (NNDSS). It represents a rise of more than 10,000 more cases compared with the 73,641 flu cases reported to the end of May last year.
There have also been 67,141 cases of Covid-19, and 52,611 cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which causes infections of the lungs – to date this year, as of Tuesday, according to the NNDSS.
Prof Paul Griffin, an infectious diseases physician from the University of Queensland, says the country is experiencing a record-breaking surge in respiratory illnesses, with flu cases the highest ever recorded outside the traditional winter months.
“This year’s cases are well above what we’ve seen for the past five years for January, February, March and April, very clearly,” Griffin says.
What does this mean for the upcoming flu season?
Griffin says it is unclear what the high number of cases will mean for the rest of the season: “We don’t know till we’re in it. It does mean with that number of cases already, low vaccination rates, the impact is already very significant and more significant than it should be because we’ve got a very small proportion of people vaccinated.”
What are the vaccination rates like?
Figures from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance show that in the year to date only 11.7% of children between six months and five years old received the flu vaccine, despite this age group being among the most at-risk of developing serious complications.
Only 7.6% of five- to 15-year-olds, 12.8% of 15- to 50-year-olds, 21.2% of 50- to 65-year-olds, and under half (46.9%) of those over 65 have had vaccines to date this year.
What can you do to protect yourself?
Griffin says “with that much flu already, it’s very clear we need to have as many people vaccinated as possible and we’re well below that. The vaccine rates are still terrible.”
Leask says flu vaccination needs to be a habit for Australians, with data showing once someone receives a vaccine one year, they tend to continue it the next. It’s important for healthcare workers to encourage patients to initiate that habit, she says.
Griffin urges everyone to get vaccinated for flu, as well as consider taking other steps to prevent getting infected, such as hand hygiene and air purifiers and even mask wearing for high-risk people.
