Hospitals in Victoria are on high alert with a surge in flu cases predicted across the state.
Over the past two weeks, cases of the flu have been up 28 per cent across Victoria.
Experts say there are more variants than usual and lower than normal vaccination rates.
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“Fewer and fewer people are protecting themselves with facemasks and handwashing and because of that people are more exposed to the flu than this time last year,” Epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman told 7NEWS.
“The second reason is there’s been a bit of an early start to the flu season in the Northern Hemisphere.
“The current strain of influenza that’s circulating now is identical to that was seen in last winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
“And of course we’re seeing more and more people travelling internationally, so they’re bringing that strain back”.
The people who are most at risk are the elderly, young children and the immunocompromised.
Esterman said the flu vaccination makes a big difference to how severely people are affected by the flu.
“Current flu vaccines are about 40 to 60 per cent effective at preventing illness from flu.”