Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

[HenryN]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

DEVELOPING: Two more Queenslanders in their thirties have died after developing flu-like symptoms.
<!-- Article paragraphs -->The state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a news conference at 3.30pm today.

The deaths follow those of a four-year-old boy and 37-year-old father of three Glen Kindness in Queensland during the past two weeks after they developed influenza A.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/comments/0,23836,22235756-952,00.html

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Beattie may draw on Qld's Tamiflu stockpile

Posted 49 minutes ago
Updated 50 minutes ago

The Queensland Government is moving to reassure people that stocks of a drug to treat flu will be available.

Premier Peter Beattie says he is concerned by reports that some people are having trouble filling prescriptions for Tamiflu.

Mr Beattie says Queensland Health is urging manufacturers to speed up delivery of the anti-viral medication to chemists.

He says the State Government will make its stockpile available if pharmacists still do not have adequate supplies.

Earlier this month, a four-year-old boy died after being admitted to hospital with the flu, and a 37-year-old man has died from flu-related complications.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/13/2003625.htm

THE State Government will release it stocks of the antiviral drug Tamiflu as concern continues to grow about this year's flu outbreak.

The state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a news conference at 3.30pm today.

A four-year-old boy and 37-year-old father of three Glen Kindness have already died in Queensland during the past two weeks after they developed influenza A.

Two more deaths - both women in their 30s - were initially thought to have been caused by the flu but are now believed to have been the result of other conditions despite them both exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Authorities say test results released late today show neither had influenza.

Premier Peter Beattie said today the Queensland Government would make its stockpile of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu available to ensure everyone who needed the drug would have access to it.

Mr Beattie said Dr Young was becoming increasingly concerned about the growing seriousness of the state's flu outbreak.

"It's now too late for people who have not had the flu vaccine to be protected by it," he said.

"The fact that otherwise healthy young people are now dying from the flu is of serious concern."

Mr Beattie said he had been concerned by reports that people ill with the flu were experiencing difficulties in having prescriptions for Tamiflu filled in Queensland.

"That's why we're taking the extraordinary step of opening up our stockpile to make it available to Queensland families via the public hospital system as needed," he said.

The Premier said he would be asking Prime Minister John Howard to follow Queensland's lead to provide stocks of Tamiflu from the national stockpile to residents of aged homes.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

13, 2007 03:15pm TESTS have confirmed that the deaths of two people in southeast Queensland were not due to flu.A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson said the tests, carried out after the two people, both in their 30s, had found no link with the flu. "There was no connection with the flu," the spokesman said. One death was understood to be due to a heart attack. Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a media conference at 3.30pm (AEST) today. Australia is in the grip of the worst outbreak of flu in six years, with almost 2000 cases recorded already this year – more than double the 700 cases usually noted by mid-August. In Queensland, a child and a 37-year-old man have died this flu season. Four other children have died across the country. The deaths, as well as concerns of an outbreak in aged care facilities, have prompted the Queensland Government to make available its stockpile of the treatment drug Tamiflu. Queensland Health already has dipped into the government stockpile to give Tamiflu to residents of a private aged care home in Brisbane's west. Premier Peter Beattie said the Government was responding to concerns that pharmacists were having difficulty filling prescriptions for Tamiflu. Mr Beattie said the Government had contacted drug companies to expedite supplies to Queensland chemists. In the meantime, the Government would make available its reserves of 40,000 courses. "It's important that we do our bit, basically," Mr Beattie said today. "We know that people are trying to get access to it and we don't want people to feel desperate in these circumstances, we want them to know we are moving to fix it." Mr Beattie said he also would write to Prime Minister John Howard asking that the national reserves of the treatment also be made available for aged care facilities. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22236110-2,00.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

NSW toddler dies from flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width=160 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<STORY><BODYTEXT>A two-year-old NSW boy has died of flu.
NSW Health Director of Communicable Diseases Jeremy McAnulty said the toddler had died at his parents' home in the state's central west.
Preliminary tests show the death was probably caused by Influenza A virus.
It is the sixth flu-related child death.
Five other children including three in Western Australia, one in Queensland and one in Victoria have also been reported as dying from illness associated with Influenza A.
A 37-year-old Queensland man has also died of flu.
"This tragic death is a reminder to all people that NSW and the rest of Australia is experiencing one of the worst flu seasons for some years," Dr McAnulty said.
"Influenza is not like a common cold. It affects all ages and deaths in children are very rare indeed, so it is important to put this tragic case in context, he said.
Dr McAnulty said parents should monitor children with flu symptoms, especially with a fever or breathing problems, very carefully.
NSW Health urges people to get free influenza vaccinations from GPs.
"It is not too late in the flu season to be vaccinated. Those especially at risk are people over 65 and people with an underlying heart, chest or metabolic illness - but a flu shot can provide an important protection for everyone in our community.
Dr McAnulty said every year in NSW, hundreds of thousands of people come down with the flu.
"Influenza is much more than a common cold, but fortunately it is largely preventable," he said.
A NSW Health spokeswoman said the department was continually monitoring any flu cases in NSW.
"Tamiflu is available by doctor prescriptions in NSW and (the department's) stockpile is available only for pandemic influenza or bird flu," she said.
</BODYTEXT></STORY>Brought to you by AAP

http://kalgoorlie.yourguide.com.au/...eneral&story_id=1036528&category=General&m=&y=

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Calm urged over flu death

Posted 2 hours 29 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 39 minutes ago
Professor Isaacs says this is a nasty flu season, but not a pandemic. (File photo) (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!-- if (typeof showPhotos == 'function') showPhotos('2004446-mediarss.xml'); --></SCRIPT>

• A New South Wales health expert says parents with sick children should not panic after a toddler in the state's central-west died of a flu-like illness.

The two-year-old boy died at his parent's home in Bathurst on Friday.
Infectious disease specialist Professor David Isaacs from Westmead Hospital says there has not been a big rise in the number of children being admitted to hospital with the flu this winter.
He says parents should be careful if their child has a high fever or breathing difficulties, but there is no reason to be overly concerned about normal childhood coughs and colds.
"This happens from time to time with the flu. This isn't pandemic flu," he said.
"This is just a nasty flu season, but we had the same a few years ago, a nasty flu season with a few deaths in children.
"They're being widely publicised now I think because of the scare about avian flu and pandemic flu, which has actually killed very few people.":tiphat: http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/14/2004446.htm?section=justin

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Govt refuses to dip into flu medication stockpile

Posted 27 minutes ago
Tony Abbott says although it has been a bad flu season, it does not qualify as a national emergency. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!-- if (typeof showPhotos == 'function') showPhotos('2004670-mediarss.xml'); --></SCRIPT>
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has ruled out releasing flu drugs from the Commonwealth's National Emergency Medicines Stockpile, despite the fact Australia is facing a difficult flu season.
The Queensland Government has freed up its supply of anti-viral medications for nursing homes and has suggested their federal counterparts should do the same.
However, Mr Abbott says the Federal Government will not follow suit.
"The National Medicines Stockpile is there for use in emergencies and while this has been a worse flu season than we've experienced for three or four years, I don't think it would qualify as a national emergency," he said.:tiphat: http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/14/2004670.htm?section=justin

 

[Niko]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

hat-tip JY

This is located on SE Australia (New South Wales)
<headline>Flu crisis forces maternity ward closure</headline>

<date>August 15, 2007</date>


Amanda Puckeridge's delight at the birth of baby Mahalia was tempered by the news she would stay at Wollongong Hospital rather than transfer to Shellharbour's maternity ward. She had expected to recover at Shellharbour to be closer to her husband and family but was forced to stay put because of the maternity ward's closure. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

<bod> </bod>THE winter flu crisis has forced Shellharbour Hospital's maternity ward to close.

In the past six weeks more than 7600 patients have sought help at the emergency departments of Wollongong and Shellharbour hospitals.
Of those, more than 1250 were suffering flu-like conditions.

The extremely high number of cases has forced authorities to convert Shellharbour's post-natal ward to a medical ward.

Southern Hospital Network acting general manager Henry Kornacki confirmed new mothers were no longer being transferred to Shellharbour for post-natal care.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/articles/2007/08/14/1186857512836.html

Older articles for reference:
​

<headline>
Winter puts hospital under pressure</headline>

<byline>By COURTNEY TRENWITH</byline>
​

<date>July 18, 2007</date>


<bod> </bod>"A BAD winter" is being blamed for near record admissions to Illawarra hospitals, forcing some patients to be diverted to Sydney.
Wollongong and Shellharbour hospitals have been inundated with patients suffering respiratory illnesses.
Despite an extra 35 beds opened to deal with the influx, Wollongong Hospital has been forced to transfer nine patients to Sydney hospitals.
A South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Health spokeswoman said more than 530 patients went to the hospital's emergency department between Friday and Sunday, compared to 487 the same time last year.
More than 40 per cent of those patients were older than 75.
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/articles/2007/07/17/1184559789746.html

Political issue:
​

Opposition wants more Wollongong, Shellharbour hospital beds

Posted July 17, 2007 11:03:00

• Map: Wollongong 2500

The State Opposition has demanded that more beds be opened to cater for extra demand at Wollongong and Shellharbour hospitals on the New South Wales south coast.
Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner says both hospitals have been forced since last Friday to transfer patients, other than life threatening cases, to the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick.
Ms Skinner says the situation is not only unacceptable for patients but also for ambulance officers who must shoulder the risk of their patients during a one-and-a-half hour trip to Sydney.
"It's tough on ambulance officers who have to diagnose the condition of patients, they may well not be in life threatening conditions when they start on that journey, but what happens if they take a turn for the worse during the hour-and-a-half trip?" she said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/17/1980415.htm?site=illawarra

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak (Update1)

By Jason Gale

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Flu cases surged across Australia last month in the country's worst outbreak of the seasonal illness in several years, the health ministry said.

Confirmed influenza cases reached 3,017 in the first seven months of the year, compared with 1,121 in 2006, according to the ministry's notifiable disease surveillance system. In July, 2,111 cases were confirmed by laboratory tests, the highest monthly tally in at least six years.

``Sadly, some influenza infections have resulted in deaths this season, including in a small number of children,'' said John Horvath, Australia's chief medical officer, in an e-mailed statement today.

The fatalities highlight the threat posed by flu, a disease that the World Health Organization estimates causes between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. The health agency predicts millions could die if a strain that is circulating in some poultry in Asia and parts of Africa becomes more adept at infecting humans, setting off a pandemic.

Australia's flu season is the worst since 2003, said Neil Branch, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Ageing. Only a fraction of flu cases diagnosed by doctors are confirmed by laboratory tests.

Most of the infections this year have been caused by flu viruses belonging to the H3 and H1 subtypes, the department said in a report this month. The bird flu virus that's killed at least 193 people during the past four years in Asia, Africa and the Middle East is from a different family, identified as H5N1.

Cases in Queensland

The northeastern state of Queensland has reported more than 1,400 cases of flu this year, almost three times as many as New South Wales and Western Australia states. Cases in Victoria total more than 220, the department said in its report. The highest rates of the disease have been in children under 4. Four pediatric cases this year have been fatal, it said.

Influenza is different from the common cold and is characterized by sudden onset, fever, tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches, Horvath said.

Antiviral drugs such as Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Relenza can reduce the severity and duration of flu symptoms if taken within 48 hours of the onset of disease.

To contact the reporter for this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 15, 2007 05:07 EDT


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=avDgKkQ1kqMs&refer=australia

 

[Niko]

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Don't panic' after eighth flu death

Article from: AAP
<!-- END Story Header Block --> <!-- // .article-tools --> August 17, 2007 10:26am


THE South Australian Health Department has urged people not to panic after an Adelaide health worker became the eighth person to die in Australia's worst flu epidemic for five years.

The 48-year-old woman, who worked at a health clinic in the city, was admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Monday this week but died early on Tuesday morning of suspected influenza.

Six children from four states and a 37-year-old Queensland man have already died of the virus, with record infection rates reported around the country.

South Australia's health department said today that while the cause of the latest death - the first in the state linked to the disease this year - had not been confirmed, the woman had returned a positive test for influenza A.

"The death appears to have been sudden, as the woman had attended her workplace Monday morning and was sent home unwell,'' said chief medical officer Professor Chris Baggoley.

Professor Baggoley said the woman had worked at a private health clinic and people who had recently attended were being contacted.

But he urged those people and the wider community not to panic.

"It is a tragic situation and I extend my sympathies to the woman's family,'' Professor Baggoley said.

"The best advice is for people to be immunised against the flu.

"It's not too late to vaccinate for this flu season and the vaccine covers the A strain.

"I would also strongly urge all health workers or support workers in a health setting to be vaccinated to protect themselves and others from the spread of the infection.''

Professor Baggoley said health officials were monitoring the impact of the flu in SA this year with 180 cases reported so far during August, compared to just 24 for the same month last year.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22260241-5005961,00.html

 

[tropical]

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

"It's not too late to vaccinate for this flu season and the vaccine covers the A strain.

What vaccine covers "this one" A "sub?" strain?
The WHO 2006/2007 trivalent vaccine, the new one WHO 2007/2008, or maybe no one?

Thank You!

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

Re: Australia's Flu Cases Surge in Nationwide Outbreak

HUMAN SEASONAL INFLUENZA ? SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER 2007
SEVERE INFLUENZA IN PARTS OF AUSTRALIA
There are official reports from Australia that they are experiencing more severe epidemics of seasonal influenza this year than in recent years. The WHO Collaborating Centre has reported (August 13th) that some Australian States were reporting unusually high numbers of influenza cases and that there had been six deaths in children under age 5 with influenza. In much of Australia there has been predominately Type A/H3 influenza viruses detected (which was much the pattern in Europe as reported by EISS for the winter 2006-7). However in the more badly affected Australian States H1 viruses have been more important though the Australian Centre is cautious not to conclude that these H1 viruses are driving the intense local epidemics. The Australian experience is not being repeated in New Zealand where they are reported to be having another mild influenza winter. More information will be sought from the South looking both at Australasia and the Southern Cone of South America.
ECDC Comment (16-08-07) Whether they are based in the Northern or Southern hemisphere those responsible for influenza control watch developments in the other half of the world carefully as they can give a preview as to what will happen in the next winter. However the experience can also differ between and within hemisphere. Hence while these developments in Australia are concerning they will not necessarily be repeated in Europe in the coming winter (2007-8). Rather they are a reminder that while seasonal influenza epidemics have been mild in Europe in recent years that should not be seen as the norm. Europe has to be prepared for the occasional severe seasonal influenza winters (as well as for pandemics) notably by raising immunisation rates in the groups for whom immunisation is recommended.
? :tiphat: http://www.ecdc.eu.int/Health_topics/influenza/news/news_Influenza_070816.html#2

 

[Laidback Al]

Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Sunday, 19 August 2007


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aussie mother dies only two days after catching flu [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BRISBANE: The influenza outbreak sweeping Australia has now claimed nine victims, including a Queensland woman who died just two days after showing the first symptoms. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mother-of-two Deborah Miller, 33, of Caboolture, north of Brisbane, died last Sunday after being rushed to hospital, Queensland's The Sunday Mail newspaper reported today. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ms Miller's partner Ross Colburn told the newspaper that the afternoon before she died, his wife had waved goodbye to him from their living room couch where she was watching a movie with their sons Dylan, six and Jamie, three. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]He said that when he returned home that night from his shift as a Queensland Rail city train guard she was sleeping. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"She woke up and gave me a kiss and said she loved me and went back to sleep," he said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Early Sunday morning she woke me up and I rushed her to the hospital. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I had to wake the boys up and they were upset and getting in the way of the doctors, so I took them home. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I got a call from the hospital and rushed back, but it was too late. She was only sick for two days and then she was gone." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The couple believed she had just caught a cold. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, Mr Colburn said his wife's symptoms were of the deadly strain of influenza A - fever, lethargy and coughing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The other flu victims include a 48-year-old South Australian woman who died early on Tuesday within hours of being admitted to hospital, father-of-three Glen Kindness, 37, from Narangba, north of Brisbane, and a four-year-old Brisbane boy. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mr Colburn said he been concerned, but his wife had assured him she was all right. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I kept telling her to check her temperature and go to the hospital if she needed to," Mr Colburn said. "But her temperature was only 37.3 - you can't really throw her in the car and take her to the doctor."[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/4170229a12.html[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]hat-tip to Potemkin[/FONT]

 

[aNewDawn]

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Could someone please tell me what strain of flu this is?

I assume it's not H5N1, or surely that would be in the headline.(?) But then what IS it , and isn't this "quick death" from flu very unusual?

Thanks... Dawn

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

No reason to suspect that it is H5N1. It is a virulent form of regular flu. It is apparently Influenza A/H3 or H1. See treyfish's post in this thread.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=96462

 

[aNewDawn]

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Re: Another Australian Woman Dies Quickly from Flu

Thanks, Al ... So comforting to know that questions are answered so quickly. I don't post very often, but I check in here at least a couple of times a day.

(Well, more like 5-6 times a day ... but who's counting?...

I'm still part of the 'family.' ... Dawn

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

Flu death review
19th September 2007, 5:00 WST

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=77&ContentID=40839

The sudden deaths of four young Perth children in three weeks this year from a mysterious illness, in most cases related to the flu, will be reviewed nationally next month at the end of the influenza season.

Health Department director of communicable disease control Paul Van Buynder said information on the toddlers? deaths would be reviewed by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

The department was also reviewing its pre-winter public health messages.

 

[Blue]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

After reading over this thread, I have a question. We are being told that based on the severe flu season in Australia that we in the northern hemisphere may also be facing a severe season.

Which strain of Type A flu is a cause for concern that was not included in the vaccine for this year? Was it H3N2/Brisbane? It seems like
I read this some where.