More than 30 children have been hospitalised with the flu in Queensland as health experts urgently call on parents to vaccinate their children.
Influenza cases and hospitalisations in the state have increased among children over the last month, with those under five-years-old experiencing the highest rate of flu per capita.
Last week, 34 primary school-aged children were hospitalised with the illness, adding to the more than 420 cases of hospitalised patients between five and 17 years old so far in 2025.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Catherine McDougall said she is seeing ‘many’ unvaccinated children being taken to hospital.
‘Flu in children can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis, especially in very young children,’ she said.
‘Children are more likely to catch and spread influenza contributing to transmission in the community, but young children are also vulnerable to serious illness from the flu.
‘Vaccination is very important to protect children from serious illness and complications from the flu.’
Dr McDougall said mothers who got vaccinated while pregnant helped protect their children for their first six months of life.
About 50,000 Queenslanders have caught the flu this year, according to the latest health data published on August 10.
Dr McDougall said nearly 4,900 people were diagnosed with influenza in the last week, a seven per cent increase compared to the previous week’s total and the highest weekly total recorded this year to date.
Influenza activity was markedly higher last year than this year, but the health chief warned parents not to get ‘complacent’.
‘Flu cases and hospitalisations spiked this time last year, so cases and hospitalisations have the potential to continue rising in coming weeks,’ she said.
She said that at least 118 people have died this year from flu related illness including people under 65 years old.
‘Many of these deaths could have been prevented through vaccination.’
The state has also recorded 28,628 cases of Covid-19 over the year.
In June, Queensland MP Tim Nicholls put a two-day pause on elective surgeries when hospitals became overwhelmed with cases of the flu and Covid-19.
The state government also recently scrapped a plan to offer free flu vaccinations at the Royal Queensland Show this year.
Experts had previously warned of a triple virus surge this winter, with COVID-19, influenza, and RSV spreading across the whole country before May began.
Seasonal flu is a common and highly contagious respiratory infection usually caused by influenza A or B viruses, but there are multiple subtypes and strains.
Meanwhile, Covid cases were set to surge this winter as a highly contagious Omicron variant was predicted to infect a large proportion of ns.
Variant LP.8.1. was identified as the main culprit behind large outbreaks overseas in late 2024 and early 2025 and was responsible for three in five Covid cases in the UK in March.
While the strain does not appear to cause worse symptoms than its predecessors, recent testing found it could be more contagious.