Four Residents Have Died Since Sunday at an Estremoz Care Home Hit by Influenza A, Days Before Free Flu Jabs Begin
The Central Alentejo health unit confirms influenza A in an outbreak at a Veiros care home, where 20 of 38 residents have symptoms. Only one of the four deaths has lab-confirmed infection, RTP reports. The free vaccine campaign opens on 30 September.
Four residents of a care home in the municipality of Estremoz, in the Alentejo, have died since Sunday during an outbreak of respiratory illness in which influenza A has been identified. The Unidade Local de Saúde do Alentejo Central (ULSAC, the Central Alentejo local health unit) confirmed the latest two deaths on Friday, 25 September.
The home belongs to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Veiros, a parish in Estremoz, according to TVI, as reported by Notícias ao Minuto. The first two residents to die were a man of 89 and a woman of 94.
What the health unit has said
In a statement on Thursday, reported by Lusa, ULSAC confirmed "an outbreak of respiratory disease in a care home in the municipality of Estremoz, in which infection with the Influenza A virus was identified in the laboratory". Of the home's 38 residents, 20 had some symptoms, were stable and were under surveillance.
It was careful about the first two deaths, both since Sunday. Neither had laboratory confirmation of influenza A, it said, so "at this stage it is not possible to establish a link between the deaths and the agent identified". RTP reported on Friday that infection has been confirmed in only one of the four residents who died.
On Friday the health unit reported that three residents had been admitted to the Hospital do Espírito Santo in Évora. Two others who had been under observation there were discharged in the morning. At 11:30 another resident arrived from the home and was taken to the hospital's emergency department for observation.
The local health authority has ordered isolation, personal protection and cleaning measures at the home. ULSAC's public health unit inspected it on Thursday, 24 September. The inspection confirmed that those measures were being followed, and the unit gave further recommendations "in the areas where opportunities for improvement were identified". ULSAC says it will keep following the situation and publish new information as it is confirmed.
An early outbreak, days before the vaccine campaign
Influenza usually peaks in Portugal in the winter, so an outbreak with deaths in late September is early in the season. The free seasonal flu campaign for this winter, set by the Direção-Geral da Saúde (Directorate-General for Health) in Norma n.º 006/2026, runs from 30 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. Care-home residents are among the groups entitled to the free vaccine, along with everyone aged 60 or over. Our report on this year's rules sets out who qualifies and where to go.
On Thursday the DGS also acknowledged problems with the supply of flu vaccines to the private market. It said it plays no part in that supply, which is arranged between pharmacies and the manufacturers.
For families with a relative in care
Relatives of residents in any care home can ask the home or the local health centre when residents will be vaccinated once the campaign opens on Wednesday. Anyone with a cough, a fever or a cold should put off visiting a care home or a hospital ward until they are well.
