[Anchor]

As the flu has been spreading at an unusually fast pace recently, health authorities have issued a flu advisory. The number of suspected flu patients is nearly four times higher than the same period last year, calling for extra caution regarding health management.

Reporter Park Seyong.

[Reporter]

A mother holding her six-month-old baby visited a hospital in Seoul.

Following her first child, who is an elementary school student, her third child has also caught the flu.

[Jang Yeon-hee / Guardian of 6-month-old: Both my children and I have always gotten vaccinated every single year without missing a single time, but this year we hadn't gotten it yet because it wasn't time for vaccination. However, the flu suddenly hit us now, so it's very shocking.]

According to data from clinic-level medical institutions, as of the 5th, suspected flu patients in the 36th week of this year stood at 25.3 per 1,000 outpatients.

This level exceeds 3.8 times that of the same period last year.

The number of hospitalized patients is 300, which is 13 times higher than the same period last year.

Flu occurrences are increasing across all age groups, with the epidemic being particularly prominent among children and adolescents.

As flu patients have increased at this unusual speed, health authorities have issued an epidemic advisory.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) stated that the currently circulating virus is similar to the vaccine strain, meaning vaccination will be effective, and no mutations affecting resistance to treatments have been identified.

Flu vaccinations will begin for children and pregnant women on the 21st, and for those aged 65 and older starting on the 12th of next month.

Since it takes two weeks for antibodies to form, the virus could spread further during the Chuseok holiday.

The KDCA urged the public to get vaccinated, noting that the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has also been on the rise recently.

(Video Editing: Won Hyung-hee)