Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/23/2605496.htm?section=australia
Indigenous swine flu fears spark Tamiflu push
By Bronwyn Herbert for AM
Doctors working in remote Indigenous communities are calling for greater access to the anti-viral medication used to treat swine flu.
The Federal Government announced last week that only those people at risk would receive Tamiflu.
But health workers say the policy needs to be broadened because Indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.
The recent death of an Aboriginal man who had tested positive to swine flu has raised concerns of the vulnerability of Indigenous people to disease pandemics.
Dr John Boffa, who works with the Aboriginal Health Service in Alice Springs, says Aboriginal people are among the highest risk group in the world.
"Certainly within Australia they have the poorest health status," he said.
"They have the greatest number of people with underlying chronic conditions so they are going to be differentially affected by this flu pandemic."
Among those categorised by the Government as at risk are pregnant women, those with kidney disease and obesity.
"Aboriginal people will only get Tamiflu if they are in the same risk category as non-Aboriginal people," Dr Boffa said.
"So the national response is the same for all Australian citizens. Some people might say 'well that is fair, that is how it should be,' but the reality is that is not equitable."
Today a team of Western Australian health officials will fly to the remote community of Kiwirrkurra, 800 kilometres west of Alice Springs, where the young man came from.
Doctors are still to determine what role swine flu played in his death but his community will be tested and Tamiflu given to those in need.
Dr Boffa says the drug should be freely available to all communities.
"By treating everyone with Tamiflu that presents with flu, we have got the best chance of protecting the most vulnerable at risk Aboriginal people with underlying chronic illnesses," he said.
"It's not acceptable to have a one-approach-fits-all in this case because that will not lead to significant protection for Aboriginal people."
Dr Sophie Couzos, who works with the peak national Aboriginal health body representing Indigenous communities, says the group has battled for four years to get a pandemic plan designed specifically for Aboriginal people.
"There is a much higher rate of hospitalisation and death that occurs from a seasonal flu in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population," she said.
"So it's certainly been understood that in the event of a pandemic that there is a much higher risk of that disproportionate affect on the Aboriginal population."
Indigenous swine flu fears spark Tamiflu push
By Bronwyn Herbert for AM
Doctors working in remote Indigenous communities are calling for greater access to the anti-viral medication used to treat swine flu.
The Federal Government announced last week that only those people at risk would receive Tamiflu.
But health workers say the policy needs to be broadened because Indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.
The recent death of an Aboriginal man who had tested positive to swine flu has raised concerns of the vulnerability of Indigenous people to disease pandemics.
Dr John Boffa, who works with the Aboriginal Health Service in Alice Springs, says Aboriginal people are among the highest risk group in the world.
"Certainly within Australia they have the poorest health status," he said.
"They have the greatest number of people with underlying chronic conditions so they are going to be differentially affected by this flu pandemic."
Among those categorised by the Government as at risk are pregnant women, those with kidney disease and obesity.
"Aboriginal people will only get Tamiflu if they are in the same risk category as non-Aboriginal people," Dr Boffa said.
"So the national response is the same for all Australian citizens. Some people might say 'well that is fair, that is how it should be,' but the reality is that is not equitable."
Today a team of Western Australian health officials will fly to the remote community of Kiwirrkurra, 800 kilometres west of Alice Springs, where the young man came from.
Doctors are still to determine what role swine flu played in his death but his community will be tested and Tamiflu given to those in need.
Dr Boffa says the drug should be freely available to all communities.
"By treating everyone with Tamiflu that presents with flu, we have got the best chance of protecting the most vulnerable at risk Aboriginal people with underlying chronic illnesses," he said.
"It's not acceptable to have a one-approach-fits-all in this case because that will not lead to significant protection for Aboriginal people."
Dr Sophie Couzos, who works with the peak national Aboriginal health body representing Indigenous communities, says the group has battled for four years to get a pandemic plan designed specifically for Aboriginal people.
"There is a much higher rate of hospitalisation and death that occurs from a seasonal flu in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population," she said.
"So it's certainly been understood that in the event of a pandemic that there is a much higher risk of that disproportionate affect on the Aboriginal population."
