FLU has replaced Covid-19 as the number one problem virus in Dumfries and Galloway so far this winter.
In the previous two years, flu numbers dwindled while coronavirus cases spread rapidly and overwhelmed the NHS.
Health chiefs have now confirmed that while covid is under control, flu cases have increased – and have appeared sooner than expected.
Speaking at this month’s health board meeting, director of public health Valerie White said: “We are seeing an increase in flu cases, which is now at a moderate level.
“Our flu season has started earlier and we are at higher levels we have been the two previous years.
“It will be an incredibly challenging winter.”
At the beginning of December last year there were just over 600 positive coronavirus cases recorded in Dumfries and Galloway.
Around this time, the omicron variant of the virus was beginning to spread across the UK.
Although no recent figures have been confirmed, this year’s number of cases are significantly lower.
Health board chief executive Jeff Ace said: “We are still seeing covid in the community. We are seeing some impacts on staff absence still that is fluctuating at a fairly high level.
“What we are not seeing to date is a surge as we have seen in previous Decembers.”
He added: “It is not causing us major operational difficulties, though clearly it is contributing as part of the overall systemic pressure.
“But certainly compared to where we’ve been in the last two Decembers, this is a much more positive picture.”
