Additional walk-in NHS flu clinics are being organised to help protect people against the flu.

THE NHS could collapse and patients could come to “fatal harm” if doctor strikes go ahead as a “tidal wave” of mutant superflu tears through our hospitals, Wes Streeting

Hospitals treating record numbers of flu patients but worst is yet to come as medical bosses urge people to get vaccinated

Leading medics warn of severe hospital overcrowding, staff struck down with flu, and a worrying number of cases among children. Rebecca Thomas reports

NHS Highland has asked people visiting its hospitals to wear face masks due to rising levels of flu. The health board said its staff would also be wearing masks as a protective measure while working in hospitals or out in the community.

It comes after Wes Streeting told LBC that "people may die" if doctor strikes go ahead amid a wave of "superflu" in hospitals

Flu is hitting especially hard this winter, and experts believe a mutated version of the virus – known as H3N2 subclade K – is partly to blame. It’s a form of seasonal influenza A that some have dubbed the 'super flu' due to the severity of symptoms and the speed at which it’s spreading.

THE NHS in Dorset is urgently calling for people to get vaccinated against flu as cases start to climb in the county.

Should I get a flu jab this winter? What you need to know about the H3N2 ‘super’ strain - New strain of virus appears to be hitting people harder and lasting for longer than expected

The “subtype” of flu that is dominant this year, called influenza A/H3N2, has been around since 1968 and there have been over a dozen such changes in that time. By this definition, we see “super flu” every few years. The situation isn’t unprecedented – it falls within the range of what scientists would expect in a bad flu season.

With no peak in sight, NHS England says there are now enough flu patients to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.