skip to the content
Impact of Flu

Financial impact of flu

During a flu epidemic a large amount of healthcare resources are consumed – such as doctors’ / other health professionals’ time, prescribed medicines, laboratory investigations and time in hospital. Nearly half of all patients with flu visit a doctor or hospital physician, [1, 2] and over half of these consultations result in a prescription for cold and cough remedies, antibiotics, or both. [3, 4]

Did you know that estimates suggest that flu is responsible for 1 out of every 10 days off work? [3] On average, the amount of time that people are absent from work caused by a flu-related illness is 3 days. [2] Even on returning to work after being ill with flu, many people find that their performance at work is reduced. [5]

The economic burden of flu is substantial in terms of healthcare costs, lost work days, lost school days and social implications. In Europe, the annual cost of flu-related hospitalisations has been estimated at over €11 billion every year! [6] In short, flu not only affects people’s health, but also the economy.

 

  1. Couch RB. Advances in influenza virus vaccine research. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1993; 685: 803–12.
  2. Kavet J. A perspective on the significance of pandemic influenza. Am J Public Health 1977; 67: 1063–70.
  3. Keech M, Scott AJ, Ryan PJ. The impact of influenza and influenza-like illness on productivity and healthcare resource utilization in a working population. Occup Med (Lond) 1998; 48: 85–90.
  4. Carrat F, Tachet A, Housset B, Valleron AJ, Rouzioux C. Influenza and influenza-like illness in general practice: drawing lessons for surveillance from a pilot study in Paris, France. Br J Gen Pract 1997; 47: 217–20.
  5. Adams PF, Marano MA. Current estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1994. Vital Health Stat 10 1995: 1–260.
  6. Ryan J, Zoellner Y, Gradl B, Palache B, Medema J. Establishing the health and economic impact of influenza vaccination within the European Union 25 countries. Vaccine 2006; 24: 6812–22.

 

  • "I would describe flu as something that makes you feel very, very ill. You get a headache, aching bones, and are generally fed up"
  • "When I get flu symptoms I feel like a train has run over me"
  • "I felt very sick and, during the first week, I had high temperature. Flu was very different to a cold. I went back to work after two and a half weeks. Then I suffered a setback for another week"
  • "I run a guesthouse; flu would be a real pest for me. I couldn’t cook, I shouldn’t cook, and I wouldn’t cook, so I would need to get a lot of extra help in. It would cost me a lot more money. So flu’s a real problem, a right downturn"
  • "I work on my own and when I can’t work, I have to try not to infect my little children, so they avoid getting the flu as well"
  • "I feel a little numb, like I’m in another dimension. Because in general I have sore throat, headache, I feel all clogged-up. Usually a sensation like I’m floating in the air"
  • "Shivers, sweats, makes you ache. Last time I had flu I was off for two weeks"
  • "I think that I would probably be concerned that I would pass flu onto my children, who might not be able to deal with it as well as I would"
  • "Flu makes you feel like you’ve been hit over the head with a baseball bat. You don’t feel like you can get yourself out of bed as all your energy is drawn from you"
  • "I was incapable of working. It just wasn’t possible at all… and my flu dragged on for more than a week"
  • "I have no strength. It annoys me because I can do nothing, it seems like I’m wasting my time"
  • "Flu’s like being hit by a truck because you feel completely gone. There is no energy left in your body. You are suffering from high temperature. You’re sweating a lot and you feel really unwell"
  • "First of all infinite tiredness, then I feel like sleeping and don’t want to eat"
  • "I felt really miserable because my muscles and my bones were aching. Well, I can hardly describe it, I just felt really awful, absolutely miserable"
  • "It’s like there’s something huge treading on your head, like a deafening noise that destroys the eardrums"
  • "The fever was constantly rising – I immediately measured my temperature as soon as I got home. It was 41°C and it kept rising and I was wondering what’s going on. I was really scared! Everything was hurting and it all happened so fast. Flu came out of the blue"
  • "I always feel like my limbs have iron weights tied to them and I’m going to fall over any minute, a really stuffy runny nose and feel antisocial"
  • "I was totally dependent on others! I was incapable of doing anything at all"
  • "The real flu knocks you for six – you just don’t want to move or do anything. It’s not very nice"
  • "Not being able to go to work. Not being able to do the things I have to do at home and the commitments that I have day by day"