Originating in Australia where it has already claimed hundreds of lives including lives of children.  Named Brisbane H3N2, a highly virulent strain that vaccine manufacturers have had to change the make-up of flu jabs to encompass this new strain. Britain hasn't seen a virulent strain as this for around twenty years and concerns are "when" rather than "if" it reaches our shores.

In recent years Britain has got away quite lightly with flu problems for the last few years but some health directors are warning that we may not be so lucky this time round.  Viruses from Australia strike in their winter months which is our summer and are likely to move north for our winter.  Viruses travel much quicker nowadays with many people flying daily and globally.

This strain, H3N2 has affected three times more people than other strains with many deaths resulting from pneumonia brought on by the virus.  Last year Brisbane H3N2 hit  Australia hard last year but public health experts thinnk that  Europe may not be so lucky this winter.

Professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University,  Hugh Pennington said: 'If this flu has been busy in Australia, it is reasonable to suppose that we may get a similar situation in the UK. Viruses travel round the world very quickly now.  We have had some very quiet flu years recently and every year we have to assume that it will be busier than last year. Sooner or later we will have a big outbreak, and the more cases there are the more deaths there will be.  There is no doubt that elderly people are more at risk. It can tear through an old folk's home and cause a lot of harm."

In England and Wales the last big outbreak came in 1989-90, associated with killing 23,046 people, in comparison with an average of around 4,000 for the "flu season".  Elderly people are those most at risk because they have weaker immune systems.

However, the  Australian flu outbreak of June and July last year, affected even healthy young adults and New South Wales reported over 800 deaths, many children, from pneumonia in just over a month for the same period.

In 2007 the Australian creator of the flu vaccine, Dr Graeme Laver, said the outbreak in his country meant Britain was also in danger. "If the seasonal flu is as bad as it was in Australia, you are in for a pretty bad time:" he said. "You could have a really severe epidemic. Thousands will be ill and many will die."

The World Health Organisation and Sanofi Pasteur, a vaccine manufacturer, have combined the Brisbane strain with two others, in the latest flu vaccine.  Of the three the H3N2 strain is the most dangerous.

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'Preventing and treating flu is a serious issue, and the NHS is well prepared. Seasonal flu vaccination is available free to everyone in the at risk groups.  The NHS is considering including pregnant women.

Residents in care homes are offered the vaccine because a virus will spread very quickly among them. Health and care workers are routinely vaccinated because of the dangers of them passing flu on to vulnerable patients.

England's flu vaccination scheme has seennearly  three quarters of people in the over-65 group vaccinated.  The request for the jab is the highest in Europe.

Symptoms:

Influenza comes on suddenly and is characterised by high temperature, weariness, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and an aching body.

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