CHILDREN’S HEALTH IRELAND (CHI) has warned of a significant rise in flu among children over the past week.

On Monday, the majority of 650 children who presented to CHI’s emergency departments and urgent care centres had flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, sore throat and breathing difficulties.

This afternoon, the hospital group urged parents and guardians to consider vaccinating their children against flu, to reduce the risk of severe illness and to help ease growing pressure on emergency departments. 

Patrick Fitzpatrick, an emergency medicine consultant in Temple Street, said: “Our teams saw 650 children on Monday across our emergency departments, most with symptoms that vaccination can help prevent.”

Fitzpatrick said the children’s flu vaccine – a nasal spray – is “free, safe and still available”.

In some very young children and those with underlying conditions, flu can require hospitalisation. Fitzpatrick said the disease spreads quickly through households, schools and creches.

The HSE provides a free flu vaccine for all children aged 2-17 through GPs and pharmacies, CHI said.