KBS News Flu pandemic signs / KBS 2025.11.14.

[Anchor]

Signs of a flu pandemic are emerging.

The number of suspected flu cases among elementary school students and young children has surged more than twelve times compared to last year.

The elderly should also be more cautious.

Medical reporter Park Kwang-sik reports.

[Report]

This is an elementary school student hospitalized with the flu.

The fever is not subsiding, so she cannot attend school.

[Kim Sang-eon/Patient’s Guardian: “She had a high fever, so she left school during the day and received treatment at the hospital, and she was confirmed to have the flu…”]

Staying in a confined classroom, classmates are also consecutively catching the flu.

[Kim Soo-ah/Elementary School Flu Patient: “A classmate was severely sick with a cold and didn’t come for a day.”]

Last week, there were 50.7 suspected flu cases per 1,000 outpatients, more than doubling in just a week.

Compared to the same period last year, this is an increase of over twelve times, indicating signs of a flu pandemic this winter.

In particular, the number of flu patients among elementary school students was the highest at 138.1 per 1,000, followed by infants and adolescents as the outbreak spreads.

[Kim Joo-hee/Professor of Pediatrics at Kyung Hee University Medical Center: “In a confined space, children cough, and since the flu spreads through droplet infection, many children gather within 1-2 meters, leading to infection…”]

The flu outbreak that started among children and adolescents is likely to spread to the elderly who care for their grandchildren.

The older one is, the higher the risk of complications such as pneumonia when infected with the flu, leading to a sharp increase in mortality rates.

The vaccination rate for the flu among seniors aged 65 and older is still below 70%, even though it is free.

Experts advise that it is essential to get vaccinated and strictly adhere to basic preventive measures such as hand washing and wearing masks to prevent the flu.

This is KBS News, Park Kwang-sik.

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