The current flu season has hit small children particularly hard, with health authorities issuing a plea to parents to keep their sick little ones at home.
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The school holidays are over, but NSW Health has warned that flu cases in children and younger adults are still on the rise.
NSW Health's director of communicable disease Vicky Sheppeard said the flu was disproportionally affecting those under 20 years, so it was crucial families remember simple hygiene precautions.
"More than 20 children under five years of age were admitted to hospital with influenza-like illness in the past week," Dr Sheppeard said.
"The flu is still about, so I urge parents not to send their children back to school if they are ill and to follow simple hygiene precautions.
"Minimising the spread of flu only requires a few simple steps from everyone, including covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands thoroughly and staying home if you are ill. Remember, vaccination is still your best protection and it is not too late to have a flu shot."
Related:
The latest weekly Influenza Surveillance Report shows 6418 flu cases for the week ending 14 July, down from 6762 notifications the previous week, taking the yearly total to 47,822.
Six NSW people diagnosed with flu died in the last week and three additional deaths were confirmed from earlier in the season, bringing the annual total to 79 confirmed deaths.
In the Murrumbidgee region, there were 385 confirmed flu cases in the week ending July 14, down from 413 seven days earlier.