FIGURES released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have revealed that the number of deaths involving influenza during 2025 was the highest recorded for any year this century.
There were 1,701 deaths where influenza was the direct cause or a contributor registered for 2025, compared to 1,045 in 2024 and 611 in 2023.
Other recent years with a high level of influenza mortality were 2019 (1,314 deaths) and 2017 (1,656 deaths).
The figures also show an unseasonably high mortality rate in Nov and Dec, with 95 and 119 deaths respectively, while in Jan 2026, 63 influenza-related deaths were recorded.
The increase was attributed in part to the emergence of a new, fast-spreading H3N2 variant, known as subclade K, that emerged towards the end of winter, and was a leading cause of respiratory-related deaths in Australia in Aug.
First detected in Australia and New Zealand, it has circulated widely and had spread to more than 30 countries by the end of last year.
The 2026 Southern Hemisphere influenza vaccine will contain an updated H3N2 component, said Professor Patrick Reading, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Doherty Institute.
"It is always a bit of a race to update the vaccine to give it the best chance of inducing immune responses that provide effective protection during our influenza season next year," Professor Reading said.
Plateauing flu vaccination rates have also been blamed for the record number of flu cases last year (PD 20 Oct 2025).
Deaths recorded in 2025 for other acute respiratory infections included 2,161 involving COVID, a marked decrease on the 2024 figure of 5,108, and 582 associated with RSV, which was around 100 more than in 2024. KB
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