A mysterious “lurgia” has infected several daytime television stars in the same week that a “wave” of seasonal illness has hit hospitals across England.
Daytime TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp complained of a “chest infection/lurgy” like no other she has had before.
The 53-year-old wrote on X yesterday: “This thing has completely floored me, what the hell is it?”
According to the star of the real estate show, she is not the only celebrity who has been affected by the disease.
“It seems to have hit the celebrity circuit especially hard,” she wrote, adding that she is “desperately” looking for a well-known figure to replace her at a Christmas carol concert.
Host Jeremy Vine, 59, seemed to agree, commenting: “Everyone has it.”
Former reality star and Good Morning Britain presenter Narinder Kaur, 51, added that she too has been wiped out by the illness, writing: “It’s been terrible, it’s knocked me out for a good few weeks.”
Social media is also full of people complaining about the “worst cold ever.”
Daytime TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp complained of a “chest infection/lurgy” like no other she has had before.
Allsopp is not the only one affected by the illness, as she comments that “it has hit the celebrity circuit especially hard.”
A TikTok user named @courtneyskyexx posted on the social media site stating that he suffers from “a stuffy or runny nose, sore and tickling throat, headache, sinus pain, ear pain and the worst body aches.”
Another content creator, called @hollyburnssHe told his 38,900 followers that he feels like he’s ‘dying.’ She said: “One moment I’m freezing, the next I’m sweating buckets, then I’m coughing like a man and then I have no voice.” But it’s not Covid. What is this?’
The testimonies come as NHS bosses warn of alarming levels of flu hitting UK hospitals, with three times as many cases as this time last year.
According to the latest figures, flu hospitalizations have increased by 70 percent in the last week alone.
While symptoms can vary between people, the common cold is usually mild and more of a “nuisance”, while the flu or Covid can keep you in bed for days and could be fatal for vulnerable people.
This year’s flu may be worse than last.
Experts warn that the vaccine, which is updated every year to protect against the latest form of flu, may provide inadequate protection against the version of the virus spreading in the UK.
The vaccine rolled out in Britain is modeled after that used in southern hemisphere countries such as Australia and New Zealand, which had their winter flu season six months ago.
This is because the same form of flu usually affects those countries months before reaching the UK in the winter months.
But data suggests that this year the vaccine was about 30 percent less effective than normal in southern hemisphere countries.
This means the UK could also have an ineffective coup.
Experts have also long predicted that post-pandemic flu seasons would be much worse than pre-Covid ones.
This is because the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns altered seasonal cold and flu patterns, meaning people were not exposed to the virus for a long period of time.
This means that when people returned to their normal lives, their immune systems were weaker and contracting these viruses made them sicker, Dr Eve Elizabeth Pennie, a general practitioner, previously told DailyMail.com.
Concern had been raised about a “triple epidemic” of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Covid-19.
But after an 86 per cent annual rise in norovirus cases in hospitals, the service has been warned to prepare for a “quadraemia”.
The NHS is encouraging eligible people to get a flu vaccine without delay if they have not already done so.
Norovirus, also called vomiting virus, is up 10 percent from last week and almost two-thirds from (64 percent) last year.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of the NHS, said: “The flood of cases of flu and other seasonal viruses hitting hospitals is really worrying for patients and the NHS – the figures add to our concerns about the ” quadremy”.
“While the NHS has plans to manage additional demand during the busy winter period, with one week left to book the vaccine, I cannot stress enough the importance of booking it to protect against serious illness and avoid the festive flu.”
Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at think tank The King’s Fund, said the situation looks “tense” for the NHS this winter.
“Levels of flu and other respiratory illnesses are already rising sharply and putting pressure on services, there are significant ambulance delays and 95 per cent of hospital beds are occupied, which is well above the level considered safe. “he stated.