HSE guidelines warned flu jab may not stop outbreak

HSE guidelines warn that the type of virus which caused a lethal nursing home outbreak could spread rapidly in enclosed settings and, among older people, may not be stopped by the flu jab.

The comments are made in the health service’s latest guidelines on the dangers of flu-like illnesses, published just months before six people died and at least 27 were infected at Nazareth House.

The influenza type A (H3) outbreak, the seasonal strain of which was only confirmed after tests at the National Viral Reference Laboratory at UCD, is particularly dangerous for an older population.