AU: 'Unprecedented phenomena': Melbourne wild weather triggers mass 'thunderstorm asthma' outbreak

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2...erstorm-asthma

22 Nov 2016 - 6:35am
'Unprecedented phenomena': Melbourne wild weather triggers mass 'thunderstorm asthma' outbreak


Melbourne's wild weather has seen hundreds of people needing an ambulance.
Source: AAP
22 Nov 2016 - 5:28 AM UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO

A phenomenon called "thunderstorm asthma" has caused a huge spike in calls to Ambulance Victoria on Monday in the space of just a few hours.

A severe weather change at about 6pm brought with it thunderstoms, rain and strong winds that churned up pollen, dust and other irritants in the air.

Ambulance Victoria's State Health Commander Paul Holman said every available ambulance had been dispatched and more than 190 cases were waiting during the worst of it.

"I think a spike in calls would be the understatement of a century," he told AAP.

"Every ambulance and ambulance manager was recalled," he told The Age.

"It was an unprecedented night...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/natio...ma-crisis.html

Third death may be linked to asthma crisis
Published: 2:49 pm, Wednesday, 23 November 2016
A third person appears to have died during Melbourne's thunderstorm asthma event earlier this week.

Friends of a 35-year-old man have paid tribute to him on Facebook with one writing he 'passed away from an asthma attack' on Monday after paramedics worked to revive him for 50 minutes...

...Earlier on Wednesday the family of a 20-year-old woman who died during the thunderstorm asthma event said patients should be told if an ambulance is delayed so they can drive to hospital themselves.

Hope Carnevali, 20, died on Monday night while waiting 40 minutes for an ambulance during the unprecedented asthma outbreak.

Another Melbourne resident died after suffering respiratory issues. He's been named as Year 12 student Omar Moujalled in media reports.

A number of other patients remain in intensive care and one person is critical, Health Minister Jill Hennessy told reporters on Wednesday...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-2...bourne/8060674


Thunderstorm asthma claims fifth life in Victoria
Updated about 11 hours ago

A fifth person has died and six people remain in intensive care ? four of them critical ? following Melbourne's thunderstorm asthma outbreak on Monday.

Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the latest victim had died in the past 24 hours, but did not release details on their age or sex.

The department said hospitals were continuing to treat 20 people for a number of related conditions aside from those in intensive care...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7441921.html


Thunderstorm asthma kills sixth person in freak medical outbreak
Three people are still in a critical condition after the storm hit Melbourne on Monday night
Katie Forster
48 minutes ago

A sixth person has died in a mass asthma outbreak caused by a thunderstorm in Melbourne.

Five people remain on life support with three in a critical condition a week after heavy winds and rain hit Australia?s second-largest city...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.9news.com.au/national/201...sthma-outbreak

2:54pm January 25, 2017
Ninth person dies from Melbourne?s thunderstorm asthma outbreak
9NEWS


A ninth person has died as a result of Melbourne?s unprecedented thunderstorm asthma event in November last year.

The patient died in hospital this week as a result of the storm on November 21 that sent thousands of people to hospitals seeking treatment for asthma, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

No further patients remain in hospital, and no more details of the patient were released at the family's request...

[Emily]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/11/22/explainer-what-thunderstorm-asthma

A phenomenon called 'thunderstorm asthma' caused a huge spike in calls to Ambulance Victoria on Monday, but what is it and how does it occur?

By Megan Howden
Source: The Conversation
22 Nov 2016 - 7:27 AM UPDATED 24 Nov 2016 - 11:32 AM
...


Thunderstorm asthma commonly affects young adults with a history of hay fever but not necessarily of asthma. And of those with a previous diagnosis of asthma, many claimed it wasn?t severe enough to warrant preventer medication.

[Ronan Kelly]

Thunderstorm asthma early warning system rolled out
GRANT McARTHUR, HEALTH EDITOR, Herald Sun
September 30, 2017 8:00am

A THUNDERSTORM asthma early warning system has been rolled out across Victoria to prevent a repeat of the tragedy that claimed nine lives in last November’s freak weather event.

THUNDERSTORM ASTHMA COULD BE BACK IN VICTORIA THIS SPRING

With the pollen season starting today, the state is launching its new forecasting model that sees eight monitoring stations set up across the Victoria as an early warning of potential danger.

If they detect the conditions required for a thunderstorm asthma event — a combination of high grass pollen, wind changes, temperature, rainfall and grass coverage — a traffic light scale of green, orange and red will be used to trigger public warnings.
...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vic...621a79ff6e5a78