Hundreds of Island residents were confined to their beds during the holidays thanks to a nasty strain of the flu virus.

And despite vigilance by those not yet stricken the problem could escalate warn health officials, who report a sharp increase in the cases of flu over the past two weeks.

"There were 110 reported cases last week and 70 the previous,'' noted Acting Chief Medical Officer Brenda Davidson. "Before that the numbers were between ten and 20 each week.'' This season's virus has been more debilitating than in previous years with most of the afflicted confined to bed for a week to ten days.

Reports from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital are that the number of chest X-rays have jumped as doctors seek to get to the root of a characteristic "nasty cough'' that most flu victims suffer.

"A number of people have said to me `I woke up this morning and felt like I was dying','' said Kereen Richards, programme manager of the Critical Care Unit at KEMH.

"One woman told me that her aches and pains were so bad that even her toes hurt and she didn't want to walk.

"Another feature of this flu is that people feel really weak even when it is over. The post-flu symptoms require people to be out a few days longer to regain their strength.'' While unable to give actual absentee figures, Ms Richards said "a fair amount'' of hospital staff were among the afflicted.

"Everyone you know at least knows someone who is in bed with the flu this holiday,'' she said.

"We did see quite a number of people over the holiday with the flu, but I think that is because the doctors' offices were closed.

"Most people are reluctant to call their GP's at home and so they came to the hospital emergency department.'' Chairman of the Bermuda Hospitals Board, Raymonde Dill, revealed that as many as 127 people went to the emergency ward over the weekend, but he noted that figure was not a drastic increase.

"Typically on a weekend the hospital's emergency department attends to between 90 and 100 patients,'' he said, adding the figures indicate the severity of symptoms experienced.

"People don't want to come to the hospital over the holidays,'' he noted.

"it is a time people normally get better.'' Ms Richards pointed out many of those who came in were complaining mainly of the flu symptoms.

"Many people were not taking in enough fluids and had become dehydrated,'' she said. "Many had nasty coughs and complained of acute chest pain while others came in with high fevers or tummy problems.'' Flu dampens holiday spirits Some older people were admitted for treatment while younger people were stabilised and sent home.

According to Dr. Davidson, this is not an unusually bad flu and she could not find a name attached to it.

"I know in the past there have been things like the Hong Kong flu and so on, but this is simply a true flu,'' she said.

"A true flu will knock you out for a week to ten days and leave you feeling quite weak and debilitated afterward.'' Flu shots were available in early October and Dr. Davidson noted a record number of seniors were inoculated.

While statistics on the number of shots given were not available, Dr. Davidson confirmed many children were also inoculated.

Ms Richards said many of the hospital's staff took advantage of their free flu shots and consequently had suffered significantly milder attacks.

Meanwhile, countering reports alleging there were not enough staff at KEMH to handle the onslaught of patients, Mr. Dill said: "We called in one additional nurse for the emergency department over the weekend and she was brought in not because of the volume of patients but because of the acuity of cases.'' FLU Fighting the flu Acting Chief Medical Officer Brenda Davidson offers the following prescription on how to guard against the flu PREVENTION Wash your hands frequently; stay away from crowds; and do not let people sneeze in your face.

TREATMENT Get a lot of bed rest (up to a week); increase your fluid intake; and take an analgesic (e.g. Tylenol, Advil).

Dr. Davidson says there is no clinical evidence to support the belief that citrus and vitamin C play a role in fighting the flu.

"(But) it's not a bad thing and it may make you feel better,'' she said.