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South Korea is grappling with an intense influenza season, with infections more than tripling from a year ago and showing pronounced peaks among school-aged children and adults over 50. Official data suggests a potentially severe season ahead. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the national outpatient influenza-like illness rate for the 43rd week of the year (October 19-25) climbed to 13.6 cases per 1,000 patients, a significant leap from the previous week’s 7.9 cases. The current rate decisively exceeds the national epidemic threshold of 9.1 cases and is nearly 3.5 times higher than the rate recorded during the same period in 2024 (3.9 cases). The surge is most pronounced among younger age groups, with children aged 7 to 12 recording 31.6 cases per 1,000 outpatients and those aged 1 to 6 reporting 25.8 – the highest incidence rates this season. The dominant strain in circulation is influenza A (H3N2), the most prevalent and virulent type, known for its ability to infect both humans and animals and trigger global pandemics. By contrast, influenza B infects only humans and typically causes milder, more localised outbreaks. Citing the early onset of the current season and larger-than-usual outbreaks in southern hemisphere countries such as Australia, the KDCA projects that this year’s epidemic peak could match the severity of the 2024-25 season – the largest influenza outbreak in the past decade. Amid the rapid nationwide surge in cases, pharmacies are facing growing disruptions in the supply of key antiviral medications. Data indicates that shortages of commonly prescribed flu treatments began emerging as early as September and October, with Tamiflu 75mg capsules and Hanmi’s suspension formula showing a significant gap between pharmacy restock requests and actual deliveries from wholesalers. In the final week of October, pharmacy orders for Tamiflu reached 139, but wholesale shipments covered only 47 – highlighting the growing gap between demand and supply. A similar pattern was observed for Hanmi Flu Suspension, with pharmacy restock requests soaring to 261, while only 52 orders were fulfilled in the same period. Health authorities have responded by expanding vaccination drives and tightening surveillance. About 60.5 per cent of seniors over 65 and 40.5 per cent of children had received flu shots as of Friday. “This season’s outbreak began nearly two months earlier than last year,” said Hong Jeong-ik, chief of KDCA’s infectious disease bureau. Officials warned the 2025-26 flu season could be as severe or even last longer than last season’s if the current trend continues, urging high-risk groups, including seniors, pregnant women and children, to get vaccinated in advance of the winter peak. This story was first published by The Korea Times
