The number of people with flu in hospitals across Scotland has surged more than 50%.
As reported by BBC, confirmed cases of flu have more than doubled in the space of a week.
A report by Public Health Scotland PHS shows that in November’s last week, lab-confirmed cases rose sharply to 1,759 compared to 845 the previous week.
Hospital admissions as a result of the illness also rose by 70%, from 426 to 724.
PHS said cases had reached medium activity levels, and that this comes two weeks earlier than in previous flu seasons.
Earlier this week, Health Secretary Neil Gray said Scotland was facing a "challenging" strain of the illness but assured the public that there were adequate stocks of flu vaccine.
The flu season in the country has started earlier than usual, with a sharp rise in November 2025.
Experts warned at the start of November that the UK would have a long, drawn-out flu season and that a new variant of flu was spreading more easily.
According to the National Records of Scotland, there were 17 deaths provisionally registered with flu as the underlying cause and 21 where flu was mentioned on the death certificate.
Health boards responded, all broadly saying flu cases were higher this year, with some introducing ward restrictions or face coverings as precautions, and concerns have been raised this week over the availability of flu vaccinations.
Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Neil Gray said, "The challenge we face this year is the early and fast rise of flu cases.”
"We know that the vaccine does stop hospitalizations; it does have a good effect at suppressing both the illness that people suffer and the spread, so my encouragement has been for people that are eligible to pick up the vaccine to do so,"said Neil Gray.
Health experts warn Britishers to watch out for early flu symptoms and take necessary steps or reach out to the NHS for appointments for flu shots or vaccines.
• A sudden, intense fever
• Breathing difficulties
• Severe chest pains
• Aches all over
• Feeling hot and cold
• Feeling lethargic
• Having sensitive skin
• Suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea
