![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Flu-1.jpg\")
Graph created by The Medical Republic using data provided by Professor Patrick Reading\u00a0<\/p>\nSurprises from the latest CDC data ahead of the upcoming WHO consultation on the composition of vaccines for 2027, where the state of avian flu will also be discussed.<\/p>\n
The latest Australian Centre for Disease Control respiratory surveillance report has been released, indicating that we may only now be heading into the peak of our flu season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Professor Patrick Reading, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Doherty Institute, told media that 2026 is turning out to be an interesting year for influenza.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you can see for influenza is that the number of positive tests is increasing, and it\u2019s actually continuing to increase even as we\u2019re starting to move into spring, which is a little bit unusual,\u201d said Professor Reading, who is chair of the upcoming WHO consultation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of news about last year\u2019s season because it was really unusual; we had a peak in our winter in July, which was caused by our H1N1 virus. But then later in the year, we had a surge of H3N2 viruses of the subclade K, and this caused influenza activity right through until Christmas, which was very unusual.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing in 2026 so far\u2026 is we had quite low levels of activity through our typical seasons (May, June, July) but we\u2019ve seen quite an uptick towards the end of August and into early September, so influenza activity is late and it\u2019s increasing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Graph created by The Medical Republic using data provided by Professor Patrick Reading\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the same late peak is being observed in New Zealand and Fiji but interestingly, other southern hemisphere states are not following the same trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCountries in South Africa and South America had typical peaks in the June, July months of winter, with activity decreasing afterwards. So even [comparing to the rest of] the Southern Hemisphere, we\u2019re seeing that Australia is really having a very late influenza season this year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He described the current surge of flu in NZ as one of their biggest seasons on record in terms of hospitalisations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia and New Zealand are certainly sharing this later circulation. It could relate to international travel; it could relate to climate features. I mean, influenza transmits better when people are indoors and when the air is dry. So cold weather promotes kind of transmission of the virus,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs to specifically why the peak or the increase is happening now, and whether or not we\u2019ve peaked, it\u2019s a bit hard to tell. I think from some of the earlier seasons pre-covid we\u2019ve seen September peaks, but at the moment it is a bit like crystal ball gazing, so not sure if we\u2019ve reached the peak or if it\u2019s still coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said immunity is likely quite variable across the Australian population, describing vaccination coverage as \u201cfairly patchy\u201d \u2013 current data indicates it\u2019s at 30.2%, a very slight increase from last year\u2019s 30%, but significantly lower than 2022, for example, where we saw overall coverage of 37-38% of the population.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[There are] particular age groups have higher rates of vaccination, particularly the over 65s, which is about over 60% this year, and also the six months to five-year-olds \u2013 that sits at about 36% this year,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that the vaccine [this year] has been a good match in that most of these viruses are well recognised by immune responses to the current vaccine, so that\u2019s encouraging. But what I would say is probably the vaccination rates being quite low means there\u2019s quite a susceptible population out there, so that\u2019s part of the reason why I guess we\u2019re seeing a surge in cases at the moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He recommended continuing to push vaccination despite being past the typical flu season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say there is definitely good opportunities to try and increase and enhance the immunity that we have throughout the community to try and limit the impacts of influenza. It\u2019s still unpredictable what will happen this year, but I think it\u2019s the best way that we have to keep people out of hospital and keep people from being really sick with influenza.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As of 18 September, there have been 154,342 confirmed national influenza cases in 2026, compared to 393,941 up to the end of September last year (source: the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n