An unusual flu outbreak has been reported at the Beit Balev assisted-living facility in Kfar Saba, where 47 people have tested positive for influenza despite the peak of flu season still being months away.

Most of those infected are elderly patients with complex nursing needs, while a smaller number are staff members. Three patients in the affected ward have died, although it remains unclear whether influenza was the primary cause of their deaths.

The scope of the outbreak was discovered after officials conducted widespread testing in the ward following the deaths.

According to Israel’s National Center for Disease Control, 10 new cases of influenza A were detected at monitored general hospitals during the week ending August 22.

Israel experienced an unusually severe flu season last year. During the 2025-2026 season, 189 hospitalized patients who tested positive for influenza died across 14 hospitals, though health officials said it was not known in each case whether the flu was the primary cause of death.

A total of 4,526 hospitalized patients tested positive for influenza last season, including 2,930 adults, 1,460 children and 136 pregnant women.

Beit Balev said this year’s flu activity began unusually early, before the start of the annual vaccination campaign. After the outbreak was identified, the facility activated medical protocols to treat infected patients and staff while providing preventive treatment to other residents in an effort to stop the virus from spreading.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)