Seasonal influenza - Global situation was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Wednesday, 10 December 2025 at 19:54 UTC. The event is classified as a epidemic incident with a severity rating of Severe, and was detected through the World Health Organization (WHO).

Seasonal influenza (‘the flu’) is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses that circulate globally and year-round. It can cause illness ranging from mild to severe, sometimes resulting in hospitalization or death. Seasonal influenza activity has increased globally in recent months, with an increased proportion of seasonal influenza A(H3N2) viruses being detected. This rise coincides with the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere and an increase in acute respiratory infections caused by influenza and other respiratory viruses typically observed at this time of year. Although global activity remains within expected seasonal ranges, early increases and higher activity than typical at this time of year have been observed in some regions. Seasonal influenza viruses, including A(H3N2) viruses, continually evolve over time. Since August 2025, there has been a rapid incr

Understanding epidemic events

Disease outbreaks including cholera, dengue, measles, Ebola and influenza. Outbreak trajectories depend on transmission route, population immunity and the speed of detection. Early case-finding, clean water and vaccination coverage change outcomes far more than late-stage restrictions.

How severity is rated

Global Incident Tracker rates every event on a four-step scale — Minor, Moderate, Severe and Extreme — derived from the source signal: earthquake magnitude, official GDACS alert colour, or the volume of independent media reporting for news-derived incidents. This event is currently rated Severe. Ratings can change as more information becomes available, and a rating is a monitoring signal rather than an official government assessment.

Safety guidance for epidemic situations

  • Follow official case definitions and testing guidance rather than social-media claims.
  • Prioritise clean water, hand hygiene and safe food handling during any outbreak.
  • Keep routine vaccinations up to date; they carry most of the protective effect.
  • Seek care early if you belong to a high-risk group.
  • Follow only official instructions from local authorities and emergency services — this page is a monitoring record, not an emergency alert.

Data and verification

This record was generated automatically from the World Health Organization (WHO) and de-duplicated against our archive. Early reports for any incident can be revised: locations get refined, magnitudes are recalculated and impact figures change as assessments arrive. We deliberately do not publish casualty numbers unless an official source states them. The original source report is linked at the top of this page.

Keep watching the situation on our live world incident map, browse every epidemics and outbreaks we track on the Epidemic tracker, or see today's global picture on the incidents today page.

Timeline and sources

Officially recorded

An official record exists from World Health Organization. That confirms the event was recorded; figures quoted from news reports are not confirmed by it.

How statuses are decided · the number of reports is never treated as confirmation.

  1. · received · event time 10 Dec 2025, 19:54 UTC
    First report Humanitarian agency report

    First recorded from World Health Organization.

    World Health Organization ↗

Times are when this site received each report, in UTC; the event time is shown where the source gave one. Copies of one syndicated story count as one report.