The Murrumbidgee region has been hit hard this flu season, with official figures indicating the area has seen a strong increase in flu sufferers this year.
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Figures from the NSW Health Department indicate the Murrumbidgee Local Health District area has seen 4,888 confirmed cases of influenza from the beginning of the year until October 20, an increase from the 275 cases seen over the same time span last year.
On confirmed cases alone, the Murrumbidgee has been in the top three areas of the state for the past two weeks, with 76 cases for the week ending October 13 and 54 cases for the week ending October 20.
MIA pharmacist Leanne Foley said she saw a significant increase in people coming in during the flu season.
"We did see a high influence of flu," Ms Foley said.
"It still did peak towards August and September, [but] there was a little early spark in April/May."
The administration of immunisations was one of the key increases seen by the pharmacy, with the pharmacy administering about 350 people during the flu season.
Ms Foley said the demand for immunisations was greater than expected and the increase in demand stemmed from an increased awareness of the symptoms of flu by the general public.
"We certainly had more people being immunised and we're predicting more will come next year," Ms Foley said.
"We did run out of vaccines and could not get any more towards the end of the season.
"We got a lot of people who will not normally think of getting the vaccine."
While this year's flu season may be on its way out, Ms Foley said flu is something to be constantly aware of.
"The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network had a great ad campaign so from that ad campaign, I think it drew in a lot of the general population to be more aware of immunisation," Ms Foley said.
"The flu can circulate all the time, so it's never too late to get one."
