Reported 2019 NSW flu cases pass 90,000

More than 90,000 cases of influenza have been reported in NSW in the year to date, with no end in sight to a heavy flu season.

The latest NSW Health data shows 5549 reported flu cases for the week ending August 25, taking the yearly total to 90,409.

An additional 20 flu-related deaths, with the victims all aged over 50, also took the yearly NSW flu toll to date to 188.

NSW Health said an unusually high number of summer flu cases and an early start to the winter flu season caused numbers this year to soar.

Emergency departments have also dealt with almost a quarter of a million presentations for respiratory conditions.

"Even though spring is around the corner, we urge people not to be complacent, particularly parents of young children, and to take simple hygiene precautions to avoid becoming an influenza statistic," NSW Health's Dr Vicky Sheppeard said.

Dr Sheppeard said reporting numbers over the week ending August 25 had spiked in the Hunter, New England, Southern and Murrumbidgee regions.