Unlike last year, in Northern Hemisphere the flu season has not gathered attention from the media and health authorities this year.

Only local press coverage is garnered by a series of various types of influenza in different parts of the globe instead of one global pandemic.

One should not think that no damage is being done by influenza A/California/H1N1, the official name for the pandemic strain, the pandemic was however declared over in September and it still is doing the damage by becoming a seasonal strain.

As compared to the pandemic, reports state that paradoxically, this normal flu season has the possibilities of proving more deadly. Worldwide, there were 18,000 deaths that had taken place due to H1N1. But every year the number of people dying due to the seasonal flu is between 250,000 and 500,000.

Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, has stated that there are surprises underway when it comes to influenza as it is unpredictable.

Children less than 14 years of age are the most affected.

About 98 per cent of flu cases happened last winter due to the virus. The flu will continue and ha a tendency to spread, according to the HSE.