Australia could see the return of a normal flu season this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, albeit with a greater mix of subtypes circulating, a leading influenza expert predicts. 

During last year’s season, cases rose rapidly from early May before peaking in mid-June, with more than 225,000 laboratory-confirmed notifications and 308 flu-related deaths reported nationally. 

But Professor Ian Barr, from the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, said it was unlikely that GPs would need to brace for a repeat of the “exceptional” 2022 season.

“The two most recent epidemics in 2019 and 2022 have been early, and there was very little influenza in the intervening years. But my feeling is it will probably return to something more normal this year,” he told Australian Doctor.