A Catholic diocese in Northern Ireland has suspended the "sign of peace" handshake in its masses due to the risk of infection from a strain of the flu first discovered in Australia, a media report said on Saturday.

At least 170,000 cases were confirmed at the end of the Australian winter, more than twice as many as in 2016. According to health officials, there 72 flu-related deaths, the Guardian report said. The H3N2 virus, which is also referred to as "Australian flu" or "Aussie flu", has spread across the UK and Ireland.