Rise in number of children getting flu, due to back-to-school factor

There has been a notable rise in the number of children getting the flu, according to new figures.

Health officials say this is down to children returning to school after the Christmas break.

In total, 34 people have died from flu in the past six weeks.

Assistant national director for Public Health with the HSE Dr Kevin Kelleher said: "The flu last week was dominated by a big increase for children, which is possibly a consequence of going back to school. That did happen."

However, he said: "There was a fairly big decline in the over-65s and a decline among adults (generally), but the figures were influenced by children (contracting the flu).

What to look for:

Addressing parents, undertheweather.ie describes the following symptoms of flu in children: "Your child will get severe muscle aches and a high fever. Headaches are very common. Your child will feel extremely weak and may find it hard to get out of bed. After a few days your child may develop a cough."