The flu season is quieter in the South than other regions, but its effects are starting to be felt keenly.
Nationally, an unusual pattern of sickness has developed in the North and South Islands, with health professionals recording peaks of different influenza strains - something not seen in more than 30 years.
Yesterday, Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman announced the flu vaccine programme would be extended until the end of next month.
Mornington Health Centre practice manager Jo Rowe said the practice - Dunedin's largest - was under pressure because of the number of GPs on annual leave for the school holidays.
The practice was seeing many patients with flu-like illness, but she could not say whether it was more than usual.
''The hard thing is to measure it when you've got so many staff away.
''We're certainly under pressure at the moment.''
The practice was telling patients to get the vaccine even if they had had the flu this year, because of the different strain circulating in the North Island.
The last Environmental Science and Research update, for the week to July 5, shows the South is well under the national average for flu-like illness consultations. The report shows 131 reports of the A strain in the North Island, compared with two in the South Island.
The South Island had 30 reports of the B strain, compared with 29 in the North Island.
Dr Coleman said surveillance data suggested influenza had not peaked yet this winter.
''To help ensure people have the protection they need we are extending the funded vaccination season until August 31.
''The A-H3N2 strain, which is covered by the vaccine, appears to be the predominant type - this strain affects the elderly and very young more severely than other strains.''
The vaccine was free for those aged 65 and over, pregnant women, people with long-term health conditions, and children under the age of 5 who had been hospitalised for a respiratory illness.
Although the vaccine was delayed worldwide by a few weeks, the health sector has quickly caught up with previous years' distributions, Dr Coleman said.
To date, almost 1.19 million flu vaccines had been distributed across the country.
