More than 10 million people have visited doctors due to influenza since early July, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday.

An estimated 1.73 million people visited medical facilities for flu treatment in the week through Sunday, pushing the total number to 10.75 million, the institute said in a weekly report. Most are believed to have contracted the new H1N1 flu virus.

The number of flu cases reported in the week by roughly 5,000 designated hospitals, clinics and other medial institutions rose to 186,117 from 169,095 the previous week, the institute said.

By prefecture, Oita topped the latest weekly report, with 77.21 people per institution, followed by Fukui with 71.25 and Ishikawa with 65.02.