Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

[Ronan Kelly]

Link to 2013 thread; http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205214

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

NSW is still running monthly reports - latest available is March, 2014

Summary
In March 2014:
 Emergency Department surveillance – the rate of influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations to
selected emergency departments was low and within the normal range expected for March.
 Laboratory surveillance – laboratory data indicated higher than usual influenza activity for this
time of year. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, influenza A(H3N2), and influenza B were all circulating
at low levels.
 Deaths with pneumonia or influenza reported on the death certificate – The population death
rate for influenza and pneumonia was below the epidemic threshold for the month of February.
 National and International influenza surveillance – Fewer new cases of infection with the novel
avian influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.
 Composition of 2014 Australian influenza vaccines – The Australian Influenza Vaccine
Committee (AIVC) has provided recommendations for the 2014 southern hemisphere winter
influenza season.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

19 April March to 26 April 2014

Influenza

Sixteen cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 13 were characterised as influenza A virus and three were characterised as influenza B. There have been 597 influenza cases notified year-to-date compared with 421 cases reported for the same period last year.

Cases comprised of seven males and nine females, with a median age of 56 years. Of these, two (12.5%) notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and six (37.5%) notifications were for persons aged over 65 years. The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity In South Australia.


For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

Victoria

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 20TH APRIL 2014


INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity remains low and is consistent with inter-seasonal levels.
• ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs)
remain low and consistent with inter-seasonal levels.
• The number of persons hospitalised with influenza remains low.
• Influenza virus detections remain low, with six detections of influenza A/H3N2 this week, and
one detection of influenza B.
• Detections of other respiratory viruses decreased this week.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- May 2nd, 2014 there were 4,707 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 1,680, NSW had 884, VIC 671, SA 581, WA had 496, NT 272, TAS 64 and ACT 59.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 3, 2014
27th January 2014 — 9th February 2014

SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE

REPORTING
Reports were received from 179 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 5 and 6 a total of
13,161 and 15,216 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
53 and 57 notifications in week 5 and 6 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period also decreased with 4 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 5 and 6, compared to 5
and 7 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 3 and 4
respectively. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI
rates were higher at 6 and 5 cases per 1000 consultations
(see Figure 5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is
important to note the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see
Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

Flu Tracking

No reports in 2014

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update – week ending 11 April 2014

Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza. Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher than in previous years, however current levels are stable (Figure 2).
Overall, influenza activity levels are low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data is available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

NSW Health Influenza Surveillance Report
Week 18 Ending 4 May 2014
Influenza Surveillance Forecast:
It is too early to predict which strain(s) will dominate this year and when the season will start.
Currently, the same three influenza strains seen in 2013 are circulating again at low levels.
The impact of seasonal influenza in NSW this year is expected to be less than in 2013 given that:
 the influenza strains likely to predominate in NSW also circulated last season (so many people
will have acquired immunity)
 the 2014 influenza vaccine is better matched to these strains than the 2103 vaccine, and the
uptake of influenza vaccine in NSW this year has been higher than in recent years.
People in older age-groups are at higher risk of infection when influenza A(H3N2) is the dominant
strain while younger people are more at risk of infection from the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain.

Summary:
For the week ending 4 May 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that
the influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis activity eased but remains
high, consistent with laboratory reports of increased respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) detections.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B is
low (1.4%). RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, and ASPREN on ILI activity in NSW
are at pre-season levels
 Hospitalisation (FluCAN) - no confirmed influenza admissions from FluCAN sentinel surveillance
 National and International influenza surveillance ? No new human cases of infection with the
avian influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.


For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

27 April to 3 May 2014

Thirty-four cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 20 were characterised as influenza A
virus and 14 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 631 influenza cases notified year-to-date compared with 444 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 20 males and 14 females, with a median age of 47 years. Of these, one (3%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and seven (21%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity In South Australia.


For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 1 Week ending 04/05/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has started the season at 3.6 cases per 1000 patients seen, just under
baseline levels of activity.
 From the 8 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 4/5/14) 1 (13%) was positive for
influenza and has not yet been typed.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, with four influenza. Of
the 65 influenza viruses detected so far this year 14 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 42 were H3 and 9 are untyped.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported one hospitalisation, who had
comorbidities, with influenza A (untyped). Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 3 hospitalisations with
confirmed influenza, of which two were untyped influenza A patients and one was influenza B, from the four
Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance
System (NNDSS) to date was 4,786, of which 690 (14%) were from Victoria.
 Further data will be added to report in the coming weeks as additional surveillance systems begin regular
reporting.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 4TH MAY 2014

KEY POINTS

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus activity (RSV) remains elevated this week, but influenza activity
remains low.
 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs)
remain low and consistent with inter-seasonal levels.
 The number of persons hospitalised with influenza remains low.
 Influenza virus detections remain low, with influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B co-circulating.
 Non-influenza respiratory virus detections varied, with an increase in parainfluenza activity, a
decrease in rhinovirus and adenovirus activity, and little change in the activity of RSV or human
metapneumovirus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- May 10th, 2014 there were 4,931 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 1,767, NSW had 955, VIC 692, SA 604, WA had 509, NT 275, TAS 66 and ACT 63.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 3, 2014
27th January 2014 ? 9th February 2014

SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE

REPORTING
Reports were received from 179 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 5 and 6 a total of
13,161 and 15,216 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
53 and 57 notifications in week 5 and 6 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period also decreased with 4 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 5 and 6, compared to 5
and 7 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 3 and 4
respectively. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI
rates were higher at 6 and 5 cases per 1000 consultations
(see Figure 5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is
important to note the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see
Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

Flu Tracking

No reports in 2014

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 25 April 2014
Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza. Nationally, influenza activity levels are low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher compared to the same period in previous years, however current levels are relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 19 Ending 11 May 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 11 May 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that
the influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis activity eased further but
remains high.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B is
low (2.6%). RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, and ASPREN on ILI activity in NSW
are at pre-season levels
 Hospitalisation (FluCAN) - one confirmed influenza admission from FluCAN sentinel surveillance
 National and International influenza surveillance ? No new human cases of infection with the
avian influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.


For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

4 May to 10 May 2014

Influenza
Sixteen cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, eight were characterised as influenza A
virus and eight were characterised as influenza B. There have been 647 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 460 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of six males and ten females, with a median age of 55 years. There were no
notifications for children aged less than 10 years and four (25%) notifications were for persons aged
over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity In South Australia.


For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 2 Week ending 11/05/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has decreased slightly this week to 1.6 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity.
 From the 18 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 11/5/14) 2 (11%) have been positive for
influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, with three influenza. Of the
68 influenza viruses detected so far this year 18 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 47 were H3 and 3 are untyped.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported one hospitalisation with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 4 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 3 were untyped
influenza A patients and 1 was influenza B, from the four Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 5,156, of which 751 (15%) were from Victoria.
 Further data will be added to report in the coming weeks as additional surveillance systems begin regular
reporting.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 4TH MAY 2014

KEY POINTS

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus activity (RSV) remains elevated this week, but influenza activity
remains low.
 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs)
remain low and consistent with inter-seasonal levels.
 The number of persons hospitalised with influenza remains low.
 Influenza virus detections remain low, with influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B co-circulating.
 Non-influenza respiratory virus detections varied, with an increase in parainfluenza activity, a
decrease in rhinovirus and adenovirus activity, and little change in the activity of RSV or human
metapneumovirus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- May 17th, 2014 there were 5,270 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 1,898, NSW had 1,007, VIC 775, SA 631, WA had 536, NT 276, TAS 71 and ACT 76.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 4, 2014
10th February 2014 ? 23rd February 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 171 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 7 and 8 a total of
13,907 and 12,920 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 99
and 68 notifications in week 7 and 8 respectively. ILI rates
reported in this period also increased with 7 and 5 cases per
1000 consultations in weeks 7 and 8 respectively,
compared to 4 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 5 and
6. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were
lower at 5 and 6 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure
5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking 24 HourReport Interim Report

Week #20 - ending 11 May 2014
Low levels of influenza-like illness activity

This survey was sent on Wednesday 14 May 15:12 and by Tuesday 13 May 9:00 we had received 12727 responses (10854 last week) from 8013 people responding for themselves and 4714 household members across Australia.

Note* Error correction the survey was sent on Monday the 12th of May 2014

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 1.8 % of vaccinated participants and 2.2 % of unvaccinated participants. *Fever, cough and absence from normal duties was reported by 1.0 % of vaccinated participants and 1.3 % of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 6839/12727 (53.7 %) have received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 2407 participants who identified as working face-to-face with patients, 1774 (73.7 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 9 May 2014
Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza. Nationally, influenza activity levels are low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher compared to the same period in previous years, however current levels are relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data is available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 20 Ending 18 May 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 18 May 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that the
influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations increased although was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis activity
increased slightly and remains high.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B is low
(2.5%). RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, and ASPREN on ILI activity in NSW
are at pre-season levels
 Hospitalisation (FluCAN) - one confirmed influenza admission from FluCAN sentinel surveillance
 National and International influenza surveillance ? New human cases of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

11 May to 17 May 2014

Thirty-one cases of influenza were reported this week.Of these, 17 were characterised as influenza A virus and 14 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 678 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 491 cases reported for the same period last year.

The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.


For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

Victoria

Report No 2 Week ending 11/05/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has decreased slightly this week to 1.6 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity.
 From the 18 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 11/5/14) 2 (11%) have been positive for
influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, with three influenza. Of the
68 influenza viruses detected so far this year 18 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 47 were H3 and 3 are untyped.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported one hospitalisation with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 4 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 3 were untyped
influenza A patients and 1 was influenza B, from the four Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 5,156, of which 751 (15%) were from Victoria.
 Further data will be added to report in the coming weeks as additional surveillance systems begin regular
reporting.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 11TH MAY 2014

KEY POINTS

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Non-influenza respiratory virus activity is increasing; indicators of influenza activity remain
low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs)
remain low and consistent with inter-seasonal levels.
 The number of persons hospitalised with influenza remains low.
 Influenza virus detections remain low, with influenza A/H1N1, influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B
co-circulating.
 Non-influenza respiratory virus detections increased this week; in particular, detections of
respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza viruses increased.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- May 24th, 2014 there were 5,561 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,004, NSW had 1,052, VIC 840, SA 662, WA had 571, NT 277, ACT 79 and TAS 76.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 4, 2014
10th February 2014 ? 23rd February 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 171 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 7 and 8 a total of
13,907 and 12,920 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 99
and 68 notifications in week 7 and 8 respectively. ILI rates
reported in this period also increased with 7 and 5 cases per
1000 consultations in weeks 7 and 8 respectively,
compared to 4 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 5 and
6. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were
lower at 5 and 6 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure
5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking 24 Hour Weekly Interim Report
Week #21 - ending 18 May 2014
Low levels of influenza-like illness activity

This survey was sent on Monday 19 May 7:08 and by Tuesday 20 May 9:00 we had received 13942 responses (12727 last week) from 8704 people responding for themselves and 5238 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.2 % of vaccinated participants and 2.5 % of unvaccinated participants. *Fever, cough and absence from normal duties was reported by 1.3 % of vaccinated participants and 1.2 % of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 7635/13942 (54.8 %) have received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 2597 participants who identified as working face-to-face with patients, 1956 (75.3 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 9 May 2014
Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza. Nationally, influenza activity levels are low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher compared to the same period in previous years, however current levels are relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data is available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 21 Ending 25 May 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 25 May 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that the
influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis presentations remain high.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B was
low at 1.9%. RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and Flu Tracking on ILI
activity in NSW are at pre-season levels.
 Hospitalisation (FluCAN) - no confirmed influenza admissions from FluCAN sentinel surveillance.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? new human cases of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

18 May to 24 May 2014

Twenty-five cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 19 were characterised as influenza
A and six were characterised as influenza B. There have been 703 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 521 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 13 males and 12 females, with a median age of 42 years. Three (12%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and two (8%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.


For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 4 Week ending 25/05/14

Summary

 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has increased slightly this week to 2.5 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) are also below the
seasonal threshold.
 From the 41 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 25/5/14) 6 (15%) have been positive for
influenza A, 5 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 1 untyped. This week we received 11 surveillance swabs of which 2 (18%)
were positive for influenza A, 1 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 1 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, with 2 influenza
A(H1N1)pdm2009. Of the 77 influenza viruses detected so far this year 25 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 47 were H3, 3
are untyped and 2 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 1 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 14 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 13 were untyped
influenza A patients and 1 was influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 5,747, of which 887 (15%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 25TH MAY 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity remains low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs), and
influenza notifications and hospital admissions all remain low and relatively stable.
 Of the influenza viruses subtyped in the past week, 50% were influenza A/H1N1, but influenza
A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses are also circulating.
 Overall detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased slightly this week.

ILI presentations to sentinel GP practices increased this week, although none of the 26 swabs
collected at sentinel practices tested positive for influenza virus; of 284 routinely collected
specimens, 13 (4%) tested positive.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- May 31st, 2014 there were 5,875 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,129, NSW had 1,096, VIC 918, SA 683, WA had 606, NT 282, ACT 83 and TAS 78.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 8, 2014
7th April 2014 ? 20th April 2014

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
67 and 93 notifications in week 15 and 16 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period remained steady with 4 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 15 and 16,
compared to 6 and 7 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks
13 and 14 respectively. For the same reporting period in
2013, ILI rates were identical at 6 and 7 cases per 1000
consultations (see Figure 5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note the increased ILI rate in
Urban ACT (see Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 25 May 2014
This survey was sent on Monday 26 May 7:41 and by Thursday 29 May 9:00 we had received 16137 responses
(15966 last week) from 10012 people responding for themselves and 6125 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.5 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.3 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.5 % of vaccinated participants and 1.9
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 8901/16137 (55.2 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3092
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2339 (75.6 %) have received the vaccine.


For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 9 May 2014
Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza. Nationally, influenza activity levels are low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher compared to the same period in previous years, however current levels are relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data is available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 22 Ending 1 June 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 1 June 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that the
influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis presentations remain high.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B was
low at 2.3%. RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and Flu Tracking on ILI
activity in NSW remain at inter-season levels.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) - one confirmed influenza admission reported.
 Deaths with pneumonia or influenza reported on the death certificate ? The population death rate
for influenza and pneumonia was below the epidemic threshold for this time of the year
 National and International influenza surveillance ? new human cases of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.


For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

No reports yet for 2014

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

25 May to 31 May 2014

VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES
Influenza
Twenty-six cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 16 were characterised as influenza
A and ten were characterised as influenza B. There have been 729 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 565 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 14 males and 12 females, with a median age of 50 years. Four (15%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and ten (38%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

No Reports yet in 2014

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 5 Week ending 01/06/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has decreased slightly this week to 2.6 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) are also below the
seasonal threshold.
 From the 57 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 1/6/14) 9 (16%) have been positive for
influenza A, 7 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 2 untyped. This week we received 16 surveillance swabs of which 3 (19%)
were positive for influenza A, all being 1 A(H1N1)pdm2009.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and RSV. Of the 82 influenza
viruses detected so far this year 27 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 48 were H3, 3 are untyped and 4 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 1 hospitalisation with influenza A (untyped)and
1 with influenza B. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 17 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which
15 were untyped influenza A patients and 2 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 6,085, of which 961 (16%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 1ST JUNE 2014
KEY POINTS

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Non-influenza virus activity increased this week, but influenza activity remains low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs), and
influenza notifications and hospital admissions remain low.
 Of the influenza viruses subtyped in the past week, 50% were influenza A/H1N1, but influenza
A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses are also circulating.
 Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased this week, particularly respiratory
syncytial virus, rhinovirus, and adenovirus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- June 6th, 2014 there were 6,138 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,205, NSW had 1,172, VIC 970, SA 709, WA had 629, NT 282, ACT 87 and TAS 84.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 8, 2014
7th April 2014 ? 20th April 2014

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
67 and 93 notifications in week 15 and 16 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period remained steady with 4 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 15 and 16,
compared to 6 and 7 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks
13 and 14 respectively. For the same reporting period in
2013, ILI rates were identical at 6 and 7 cases per 1000
consultations (see Figure 5) respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note the increased ILI rate in
Urban ACT (see Figure 2).


For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 1 June 2014
Low levels of influenza-like illness activity

This survey was sent on Monday 2 June 1:23 and by Thursday 5 June 9:00 we had received 16311 responses (16137
last week) from 10137 people responding for themselves and 6174 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.6 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.2 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.5 % of vaccinated participants and 1.9
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9159/16311 (56.2 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3201
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2455 (76.7 %) have received the vaccine.


For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 23 May 2014

Nationally the 2013 influenza season peaked at the end of August, with notifications remaining higher than usual over the summer period (Figure 1).
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza, with influenza activity levels low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity is higher compared with the same period in previous years, however current levels are relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

New South Wales
Week 22 Ending 1 June 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 1 June 2014, influenza activity was low in NSW with no indication that the
influenza season has started.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations was well below the seasonal threshold. Bronchiolitis presentations remain high.
 Laboratory surveillance ? the proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B was
low at 2.3%. RSV was the most commonly identified respiratory virus.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and Flu Tracking on ILI
activity in NSW remain at inter-season levels.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) - one confirmed influenza admission reported.
 Deaths with pneumonia or influenza reported on the death certificate ? The population death rate
for influenza and pneumonia was below the epidemic threshold for this time of the year
 National and International influenza surveillance ? new human cases of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise decreasing influenza activity worldwide.


For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 26 May - 1 June 2014

There were 87 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 19 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 68 Influenza A samples, 13 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 4 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,162 notifications reported 2.2 times the 5 year mean. Of these cases, 340 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,215 Influenza A samples, 558 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 48 as A/H3N2.

There have been 275 hospital admissions including 42 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

Thirty-four cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 28 were characterised as influenza A
and six were characterised as influenza B. There have been 763 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 609 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 16 males and 18 females, with a median age of 47 years. Four (12%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and six (18%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia

For more information: SA Health

*Tasmania

Issue 2 | 13 June 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during May 2014 up to and including 8 June 2014.
Available data indicate:
 During the past 6 weeks notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have remained at a level consistent
with the historic baseline. The current rate of notifications does not indicate the beginning of the 2014
influenza season.
 The majority of influenza notifications since the start of 2014 have been Influenza A infections.
 The level of state-wide influenza testing undertaken has increased over the past 6 weeks despite there being
few influenza detections. Respiratory pathogen testing indicates increasing detection of non-influenza viruses.

Influenza notifications
...
In the 6 weeks since the last report a further 20 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking
the 2014 total to 86 notifications. This number exceeds the number of notifications during the same period of 2013
(16 notifications) and the mean of the four years 2010 to 2013 (33 notifications). The incidence of influenza
notifications remains low and is consistent with past inter-seasonal periods (see Figure 1).
Of the 86 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 76 (88%) were due to Influenza A virus infections.
The remaining 10 (12%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). To date few Influenza A
laboratory isolates have undergone further typing; 15 were Influenza A H1N1 (the 2009 pandemic strain) and 11
were Influenza A H3N2. Influenza A H1N1 was the most common strain during 2013.

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 6 Week ending 08/06/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has decreased slightly this week to 1.9 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) are also remained
below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 63 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 8/6/14) 10 (16%) have been positive for
influenza A, 7 A(H1N1)pdm2009,1 H3 and 2 untyped. This week we received 6 surveillance swabs of which 1
(17%) was positive for influenza A (untyped).
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus. Of the 84 influenza viruses
detected so far this year 28 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 48 were H3, 3 are untyped and 5 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 1 hospitalisation with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 20 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 17 were untyped
influenza A patients and 3 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 6,289, of which 998 (16%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 1ST JUNE 2014
KEY POINTS

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Non-influenza virus activity increased this week, but influenza activity remains low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs), and
influenza notifications and hospital admissions remain low.
 Of the influenza viruses subtyped in the past week, 50% were influenza A/H1N1, but influenza
A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses are also circulating.
 Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased this week, particularly respiratory
syncytial virus, rhinovirus, and adenovirus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- June 14th, 2014 there were 6,442 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,318, NSW had 1,234, VIC 1,030, SA 740, WA had 659, NT 283, ACT 91 and TAS 87.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 10, 2014
5th May 2014 ? 18th May 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 259 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 19 and 20 a total of
14,765 and 14,290 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
104 and 52 notifications in week 19 and 20 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period decreased slightly with 7 and 4
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 19 and 20
respectively, compared to 7 cases per 1000 consultations
in weeks 17 and 18. For the same reporting period in 2013,
ILI rates were lower at 4 cases per 1000 consultations (see
Figure 5). On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note
the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 8 June 2014
This survey was sent on Monday 9 June 7:43 and by Thursday 12 June 9:00 we had received 16132 responses
(16311 last week) from 9989 people responding for themselves and 6143 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.6 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.0 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.4 % of vaccinated participants and 1.8
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9128/16132 (56.6 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3136
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2406 (76.7 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 06 June 2014
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza, with influenza activity levels continuing to be low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity continues to be low with current levels relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 24 Ending 15 June 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 15 June 2014, influenza activity remained low in NSW but with some
indications that the start of the influenza season may be approaching.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations reached the season threshold, one indication that the influenza season may have
begun. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care wards also increased this week.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Overall influenza A and B activity remained low this week, and the
proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B was also low at 3.2%.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and Flu Tracking on ILI
indicated activity in NSW remained at inter-season levels.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? one new confirmed influenza admission was reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? one new human case of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 2 June - 8 June 2014

There were 82 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 18 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 64 Influenza A samples, 3 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 0 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,260 notifications reported 2.0 times the 5 year mean. Of these cases, 362 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,898 Influenza A samples, 573 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 48 as A/H3N2.

There have been 281 hospital admissions including 42 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
8 June to 14 June 2014

Thirty-one cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 24 were characterised as influenza A
and seven were characterised as influenza B. There have been 794 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 637 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 17 males and 14 females, with a median age of 44 years. Three (10%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and four (13%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

Issue 2 | 13 June 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during May 2014 up to and including 8 June 2014.
Available data indicate:
 During the past 6 weeks notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have remained at a level consistent
with the historic baseline. The current rate of notifications does not indicate the beginning of the 2014
influenza season.
 The majority of influenza notifications since the start of 2014 have been Influenza A infections.
 The level of state-wide influenza testing undertaken has increased over the past 6 weeks despite there being
few influenza detections. Respiratory pathogen testing indicates increasing detection of non-influenza viruses.

Influenza notifications
...
In the 6 weeks since the last report a further 20 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking
the 2014 total to 86 notifications. This number exceeds the number of notifications during the same period of 2013
(16 notifications) and the mean of the four years 2010 to 2013 (33 notifications). The incidence of influenza
notifications remains low and is consistent with past inter-seasonal periods (see Figure 1).
Of the 86 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 76 (88%) were due to Influenza A virus infections.
The remaining 10 (12%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). To date few Influenza A
laboratory isolates have undergone further typing; 15 were Influenza A H1N1 (the 2009 pandemic strain) and 11
were Influenza A H3N2. Influenza A H1N1 was the most common strain during 2013.

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 7 Week ending 15/06/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has increased slightly this week to 3.7 cases per 1000 patients seen, remaining
under baseline levels of activity. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) are also remained
below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 73 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 15/6/14) 13 (18%) have been positive for
influenza A, 10 A(H1N1)pdm2009,1 A(H3N2) and 2 untyped. This week we received 10 surveillance swabs of which
3 (30%) were positive for influenza A, 2 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 1 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and RSV. Of the 89 influenza
viruses detected so far this year 32 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 48 were A(H3N2),3 are untyped and 6 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 3 hospitalisation with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 31 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 23 were untyped
influenza A patients, 5 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 3 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 5 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza year
to date from Victoria, 3 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 2 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 6,730, of which 1,122 (17%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 8TH JUNE 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Non-influenza virus activity increased this week, particularly respiratory syncytial virus, but
influenza activity remains low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and influenza notifications remain low
 ILI presentations to emergency departments (EDs) increased this week; hospital admissions for
influenza remain low.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in the past week were influenza A/H1N1, but
influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses are also circulating.
 Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased this week, particularly respiratory
syncytial virus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- June 21st, 2014 there were 6,937 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,462, NSW had 1,329, VIC 1,159, SA 806, WA had 700, NT 290, TAS 96 and ACT 95.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 10, 2014
5th May 2014 ? 18th May 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 259 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 19 and 20 a total of
14,765 and 14,290 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
104 and 52 notifications in week 19 and 20 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period decreased slightly with 7 and 4
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 19 and 20
respectively, compared to 7 cases per 1000 consultations
in weeks 17 and 18. For the same reporting period in 2013,
ILI rates were lower at 4 cases per 1000 consultations (see
Figure 5). On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note
the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 15 June 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 16 June 0:33 and by Thursday 19 June 9:00 we had received 16301 responses
(16132 last week) from 10155 people responding for themselves and 6146 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.6 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.1 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.4 % of vaccinated participants and 1.7
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9311/16301 (57.1 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3166
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2468 (78.0 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information, or to enrol: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 06 June 2014
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza, with influenza activity levels continuing to be low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity continues to be low with current levels relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

New South Wales
Week 24 Ending 15 June 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 15 June 2014, influenza activity remained low in NSW but with some
indications that the start of the influenza season may be approaching.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations reached the season threshold, one indication that the influenza season may have
begun. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care wards also increased this week.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Overall influenza A and B activity remained low this week, and the
proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza A or B was also low at 3.2%.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and Flu Tracking on ILI
indicated activity in NSW remained at inter-season levels.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? one new confirmed influenza admission was reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? one new human case of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 9 June - 15 June 2014

There were 86 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 13 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 73 Influenza A samples, 11 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 0 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,382 notifications reported 1.8 times the 5 year mean. Of these cases, 384 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,998 Influenza A samples, 611 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 51 as A/H3N2.

There have been 301 hospital admissions including 44 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
15 June to 21 June 2014

Sixty-four cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 59 were characterised as influenza A
and five were characterised as influenza B. There have been 858 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 661 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 31 males and 33 females, with a median age of 42 years. Seven (11%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 11 (17%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

Issue 2 | 13 June 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during May 2014 up to and including 8 June 2014.
Available data indicate:
 During the past 6 weeks notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have remained at a level consistent
with the historic baseline. The current rate of notifications does not indicate the beginning of the 2014
influenza season.
 The majority of influenza notifications since the start of 2014 have been Influenza A infections.
 The level of state-wide influenza testing undertaken has increased over the past 6 weeks despite there being
few influenza detections. Respiratory pathogen testing indicates increasing detection of non-influenza viruses.

Influenza notifications
...
In the 6 weeks since the last report a further 20 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking
the 2014 total to 86 notifications. This number exceeds the number of notifications during the same period of 2013
(16 notifications) and the mean of the four years 2010 to 2013 (33 notifications). The incidence of influenza
notifications remains low and is consistent with past inter-seasonal periods (see Figure 1).
Of the 86 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 76 (88%) were due to Influenza A virus infections.
The remaining 10 (12%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). To date few Influenza A
laboratory isolates have undergone further typing; 15 were Influenza A H1N1 (the 2009 pandemic strain) and 11
were Influenza A H3N2. Influenza A H1N1 was the most common strain during 2013.

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 8 Week ending 22/06/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has increased to above baseline levels this week to 4.1 cases per 1000 patients
seen. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) also increased to above the seasonal
threshold.
 From the 93 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 22/6/14) 19 (20%) have been positive
for influenza A, 14 A(H1N1)pdm2009,1 A(H3N2) and 4 untyped. This week we received 21 surveillance swabs of
which 5 (24%) were positive for influenza A, 2 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 3 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and RSV. Of the 96 influenza
viruses detected so far this year 36 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 50 were A(H3N2),3 are untyped and 7 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 2 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 36 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 28 were untyped
influenza A patients, 5 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 3 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 5 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 3 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 2 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 7,202, of which 1,208 (17%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 8TH JUNE 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Non-influenza virus activity increased this week, particularly respiratory syncytial virus, but
influenza activity remains low.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and influenza notifications remain low
 ILI presentations to emergency departments (EDs) increased this week; hospital admissions for
influenza remain low.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in the past week were influenza A/H1N1, but
influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses are also circulating.
 Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased this week, particularly respiratory
syncytial virus.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- June 28th, 2014 there were 7,441 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,622, NSW had 1,448, VIC 1,268, SA 865, WA had 737, NT 290, ACT 105 and TAS 104.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 11, 2014
19th May 2014 ? 1st June 2014
REPORTING
Reports were received from 269 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 21 and 22 a total of
14,774 and 15,101 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 54
and 68 notifications in week 21 and 22 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period decreased with 4 and 5 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 21 and 22 respectively,
compared to 7 and 4 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks
19 and 20 respectively. For the same reporting period in
2013, ILI rates were slightly higher at 4 and 6 cases per
1000 consultations (see Figure 5). On a state-by-state
basis, it is important to note the increased ILI rate in Urban
QLD (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 22 June 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 23 June 7:21 and by Thursday 26 June 9:00 we had received 16398 responses
(16301 last week) from 10189 people responding for themselves and 6209 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.8 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.5 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.8 % of vaccinated participants and 2.1
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9353/16398 (57.0 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3193
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2460 (77.0 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 06 June 2014
Australia is currently in the inter-seasonal period for influenza, with influenza activity levels continuing to be low and stable, but higher than at the same time in previous years (Figures 1 and 4).
Across most jurisdictions, influenza activity continues to be low with current levels relatively stable (Figure 2).
There is no indication that the 2014 influenza season has commenced, nor any indication of the potential severity of the season.
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 26 Ending 29 June 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 29 June 2014, influenza activity increased to moderate levels in NSW,
which indicates that the influenza season has begun.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations increased and was just below the season threshold. ILI and pneumonia admissions
to critical care wards increased this week.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza A activity increased this week to moderate levels and indicates
the influenza season has begun. RSV was still the most commonly identified respiratory virus but
activity is declining.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking on ILI
indicated steady activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? five new confirmed influenza admissions were reported,
two of these were to ICU.
 Deaths with pneumonia or influenza reported on the death certificate ? The population death rate
for influenza and pneumonia was below the epidemic threshold for this time of the year.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? no new human case of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 16 June - 22 June 2014

There were 103 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 14 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 89 Influenza A samples, 17 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,518 notifications reported 1.6 times the 5 year mean. Of these cases, 404 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 2,114 Influenza A samples, 664 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 53 as A/H3N2.

There have been 323 hospital admissions including 48 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
22 June to 28 June 2014

Seventy-six cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 69 were characterised as influenza
A and seven were characterised as influenza B. There have been 934 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 719 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 35 males and 41 females, with a median age of 39 years. Fifteen (20%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 11 (14%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania

Issue 2 | 13 June 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during May 2014 up to and including 8 June 2014.
Available data indicate:
 During the past 6 weeks notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have remained at a level consistent
with the historic baseline. The current rate of notifications does not indicate the beginning of the 2014
influenza season.
 The majority of influenza notifications since the start of 2014 have been Influenza A infections.
 The level of state-wide influenza testing undertaken has increased over the past 6 weeks despite there being
few influenza detections. Respiratory pathogen testing indicates increasing detection of non-influenza viruses.

Influenza notifications
...
In the 6 weeks since the last report a further 20 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking
the 2014 total to 86 notifications. This number exceeds the number of notifications during the same period of 2013
(16 notifications) and the mean of the four years 2010 to 2013 (33 notifications). The incidence of influenza
notifications remains low and is consistent with past inter-seasonal periods (see Figure 1).
Of the 86 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 76 (88%) were due to Influenza A virus infections.
The remaining 10 (12%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). To date few Influenza A
laboratory isolates have undergone further typing; 15 were Influenza A H1N1 (the 2009 pandemic strain) and 11
were Influenza A H3N2. Influenza A H1N1 was the most common strain during 2013.

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 9 Week ending 29/06/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity has remained just above baseline levels this week with 4.1 cases per 1000
patients seen. Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) decreased to just below the seasonal
threshold.
 From the 118 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 29/6/14) 27 (23%) have been positive
for influenza A, 21 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 3 A(H3N2) and 3 untyped. This week we received 23 surveillance swabs of
which 8 (35%) were positive for influenza A, 5 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 2 A(H3N2) and 1 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, HMV and RSV. Of the 101
influenza viruses detected so far this year 39 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 51 were A(H3N2), 3 are untyped and 8 were
influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 2 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped)
and influenza B. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 40 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 31
were untyped influenza A patients, 5 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 4 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel
hospitals.
 Of the 5 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 3 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 2 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 7,915, of which 1,352 (17%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 29TH JUNE 2014

INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity is increasing; non-influenza respiratory virus activity continues to increase.

 ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) and
influenza notifications increased; however, hospitalisations remain low.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in the past week were influenza A/H1N1, but
influenza B and influenza A/H3 are also circulating.
 Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses increased this week, and respiratory syncytial
virus activity remains high.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- July 5th, 2014 there were 8,192 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 2,833, NSW had 1,666, VIC 1,384, SA 956, WA had 812, NT 295, TAS 129 and ACT 117.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 11, 2014
19th May 2014 ? 1st June 2014
REPORTING
Reports were received from 269 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 21 and 22 a total of
14,774 and 15,101 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 54
and 68 notifications in week 21 and 22 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period decreased with 4 and 5 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 21 and 22 respectively,
compared to 7 and 4 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks
19 and 20 respectively. For the same reporting period in
2013, ILI rates were slightly higher at 4 and 6 cases per
1000 consultations (see Figure 5). On a state-by-state
basis, it is important to note the increased ILI rate in Urban
QLD (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking

Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week #27 - ending 29 June 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 30 June 0:39 and by Thursday 3 July 9:00 we had received 15383 responses
(16398 last week) from 9600 people responding for themselves and 5783 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.4 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.6 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.5 % of vaccinated participants and 2.3
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 8846/15383 (57.5 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3042
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2369 (77.9 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 20 June 2014
Nationally influenza activity has started to increase, although overall activity remains relatively low (Figures 1 and 4).
There have been recent increases in influenza activity in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania (Figure 2).
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 27 Ending 6 July 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 6 July 2014, influenza activity increased to moderate levels in NSW,
which indicates that the influenza season has begun.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations rose and crossed the season threshold indicating the influenza season has begun.
ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care wards also increased this week.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and is at moderate levels.
Influenza was the most commonly identified respiratory virus circulating, with the influenza
A(H3N2) strain predominating.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
increasing ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? two new confirmed influenza admissions were reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? one new human case of infection with the avian
influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 23 June - 29 June 2014

There were 155 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 18 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 137 Influenza A samples, 22 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 0 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,705 notifications reported. Of these cases, 424 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 2,281 Influenza A samples, 701 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 55 as A/H3N2.

There have been 294! hospital admissions including 46! to ICU.
! - these totals do not agree with those of previous weeks.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
29 June to 5 July 2014

Influenza
Ninety cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 83 were characterised as influenza A
and seven were characterised as influenza B. There have been 1,025 influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 791 cases reported for the same period last year.
Cases comprised of 47 males and 43 females, with a median age of 32 years. Twenty-six (29%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 11 (12%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

*Tasmania
Issue 3 | 4 July 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during June 2014 up to and including Sunday 29 June
2014. Available data indicate:
 During the last week (ending 29 June 2014) the number of notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza
suddenly increased to well above the inter-seasonal baseline level.
 The majority of influenza notifications continue to be Influenza A infections. The most frequently reported
Influenza A subtype is A(H1N1)pdm09.
 State-wide influenza testing levels increased during June. The proportion of tests positive for influenza has
increased above the average inter-seasonal baseline.
 General respiratory pathogen testing indicates the non-influenza viruses RSV and Rhinovirus are currently
contributing to influenza-like illness within Tasmania.
...
Since the last report a further 38 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 124 notifications. Twenty-two of these 38 notifications were reported during the most recent week of
reporting; the highest number of weekly notifications since the start of 2014 (see Figure 1). In previous years a
sudden increase in weekly notifications of this level has marked the commencement of an influenza season in
Tasmania.

Of the 124 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 111 (90%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 13 (10%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype2.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (62%) of the 124
influenza notifications since the start of 2014. Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 10 Week ending 06/07/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity fell below baseline levels this week with 3.3 cases per 1000 patients seen. Data
from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) decreased to just below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 135 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 6/7/14) 30 (22%) have been positive
for influenza A, 24 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 3 A(H3N2) and 3 untyped. This week we received 17 surveillance swabs of
which 3 (18%) were positive for influenza A, all A(H1N1)pdm2009.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, RSV and influenza A. Of the
107 influenza viruses detected so far this year 43 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 54 were A(H3N2), 2 are untyped and 8
were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 6 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 50 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 41 were untyped
influenza A patients, 5 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 4 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 33 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 30 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 3 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 8,988, of which 1,532 (17%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 6TH JULY 2014

KEY POINTS


INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity continues to increase this week, indicating the influenza season has
commenced.
 All indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners
(GPs) and emergency departments (EDs), influenza notifications, laboratory detections and
hospitalisations associated with influenza increased this week.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in the past week were influenza A/H1N1, but
influenza B and influenza A/H3 are also circulating.
 Detections of respiratory syncytial virus increased this week and remain high; adenovirus
detections also increased.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- July 12th, 2014 there were 9,220 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 3,120, NSW had 1,972, VIC 1,564, SA 1,064, WA had 928, NT 300, TAS 145 and ACT 127.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 12, 2014
2nd June 2014 ? 15th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 277 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 23 and 24 a total of
14,167 and 13,759 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 65
and 131 notifications in week 23 and 24 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period increased with 5 and 10 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively,
compared to 4 and 5 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks
21 and 22 respectively. For the same reporting period in
2013, ILI rates were similar at 10 cases per 1000
consultations (see Figure 5). On a state-by-state basis, it is
important to note the increased ILI rate in Urban NSW (see
Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 6 July 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 7 July 0:21 and by Thursday 10 July 9:00 we had received 15707 responses
(15383 last week) from 9877 people responding for themselves and 5830 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.8
% of vaccinated participants and 3.5 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal
duties was reported by 1.6 % of vaccinated participants
and 2.2 % of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9112/15707 (58.0 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3115
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2421 (77.7 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Current Australian Influenza Activity Update ? week ending 20 June 2014
Nationally influenza activity has started to increase, although overall activity remains relatively low (Figures 1 and 4).
There have been recent increases in influenza activity in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania (Figure 2).
Nationally influenza A remains the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common (Figure 3).
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus associated with severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults in Europe and the United States of America during the northern hemisphere 2013-14 season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales
Week 28 Ending 13 July 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 13 July 2014, influenza activity continued to increase across NSW and
it is currently at a moderate seasonal level.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? the index of increase for influenza-like illness (ILI)
presentations increased and was well above the season threshold. ILI and pneumonia admissions
to critical care wards eased this week, but remain elevated.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and is at moderate levels.
Influenza was the most commonly identified respiratory virus circulating, with the influenza
A(H3N2) strain predominating.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
increasing ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? five new confirmed influenza admissions were reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally, although most other jurisdictions are seeing the influenza A(H1N1)pdm predominating.
No new human cases of infection with the avian influenza A(H7N9) strain from China; otherwise
low influenza activity worldwide.
For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 30 June - 6 July 2014

There were 198 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 31 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 167 Influenza A samples, 24 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 2,951 notifications reported (1.3 times the 5 year mean). Of these cases, 463 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 2,488 Influenza A samples, 789 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 57 as A/H3N2.

There have been 326 hospital admissions including 49 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
6 July to 12 July 2014

One-hundred and twelve cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 103 were
characterised as influenza A and nine were characterised as influenza B. There have been 1,138
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 859 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 49 males and 63 females, with a median age of 37 years. Twenty-three (21%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 18 (16%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 3 | 4 July 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during June 2014 up to and including Sunday 29 June
2014. Available data indicate:
 During the last week (ending 29 June 2014) the number of notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza
suddenly increased to well above the inter-seasonal baseline level.
 The majority of influenza notifications continue to be Influenza A infections. The most frequently reported
Influenza A subtype is A(H1N1)pdm09.
 State-wide influenza testing levels increased during June. The proportion of tests positive for influenza has
increased above the average inter-seasonal baseline.
 General respiratory pathogen testing indicates the non-influenza viruses RSV and Rhinovirus are currently
contributing to influenza-like illness within Tasmania.
...
Since the last report a further 38 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 124 notifications. Twenty-two of these 38 notifications were reported during the most recent week of
reporting; the highest number of weekly notifications since the start of 2014 (see Figure 1). In previous years a
sudden increase in weekly notifications of this level has marked the commencement of an influenza season in
Tasmania.

Of the 124 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 111 (90%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 13 (10%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype2.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (62%) of the 124
influenza notifications since the start of 2014. Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 11 Week ending 13/07/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained below baseline levels this week with 3.5 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) also remained below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 149 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 13/7/14) 38 (26%) have been positive for
influenza A, 27 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 3 A(H3N2), 7 untyped and 1 influenza C. This week we received 14 surveillance
swabs of which 8 (57%) were positive for influenza A, 3 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 4 untyped and 1 influenza C.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus, RSV and influenza A. Of the 116
influenza viruses detected so far this year 51 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 55 were A(H3N2), 2 are untyped and 8 were
influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 2 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 53 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 44 were untyped
influenza A patients, 5 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 4 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 33 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza year
to date from Victoria, 30 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 3 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 9,758, of which 1,641 (17%) were from Victoria.


For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 13TH JULY 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity continued to increase this week, with A/H1N1 virus predominant.
? Indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs)
and emergency departments (EDs), influenza notifications, proportion testing positive and
hospitalisations associated with influenza all increased this week.
? The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in recent weeks have been influenza A/H1N1, with a
fall in the proportion of A/H3 and influenza B viruses detected, .
? Detections of respiratory syncytial virus increased this week and remain high.


For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- July 19th, 2014 there were 10,619 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 3,504, NSW had 2,497, VIC 1,727, SA 1,210, WA had 1,068, NT 303, TAS 162 and ACT 148.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 13, 2014
16th June 2014 ? 29th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 280 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 25 and 26 a total of
15,014 and 15,321 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
149 and 116 notifications in week 25 and 26 respectively.
ILI rates reported in this period increased with 10 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 25 and 26
respectively, compared to 5 and 10 cases per 1000
consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively. For the
same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were slightly higher
at 11 and 9 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure 5)
respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Rural WA.

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 13 July 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 14 July 6:04 and by Wednesday 16 July 9:00 we had received 15414 responses
(15141 last week) from 9676 people responding for themselves and 5738 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.5 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.5 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.4 % of vaccinated participants and 2.0
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 8986/15413 (58.3 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3033
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2385 (78.6 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 01 - 21 June to 04 July 2014
Nationally influenza activity has started to increase, with almost all jurisdictions reporting increased activity indicating that the 2014 influenza season has begun.
The 2014 seasonal rise in notifications appears to have started in mid-June 2014.
As at 4 July 2014, there have been 8,757 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 1,440 notifications occurring during the most recent fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has started to increase over the past fortnight, with around 12% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 46 years.
There is no indication of the potential severity of the season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity is low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has either returned to or is approaching inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In China, influenza activity increased slightly in the southern region and was mostly due to influenza A(H3N2) viruses. In the southern hemisphere, influenza activity was still low.
Following two waves of avian influenza A(H7N9) infections in humans, relatively few cases are currently being reported. All of the cases have been acquired in China, with a small number exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Currently there is no evidence to support sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus. Most human infections are associated with exposure to infected live poultry or contaminated environments.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

Week 29 Ending 20 July 2014
Summary:
For the week ending 20 July 2014, influenza activity continued to increase to high levels across NSW.

 Emergency Department surveillance ? ILI presentations to EDs continued to increase and
approached the peak levels seen in previous seasons. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical
care wards decreased this week but remained within the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased markedly this week and was above the usual
range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating. There was an
increase in laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
increasing ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? three new confirmed influenza admissions were reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally; unlike NSW, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the predominant strain in most
jurisdictions. Generally low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 14-20 July 2014

There were 437 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 42 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 395 Influenza A samples, 12 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 3,734 notifications reported. Of these cases, 545 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 3,189 Influenza A samples, 925 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 66 as A/H3N2.

There have been 437 hospital admissions including 64 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
13 July to 19 July 2014

One-hundred and fifty-six cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 149 were
characterised as influenza A and seven were characterised as influenza B. There have been 1,294
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 954 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 76 males and 80 females, with a median age of 36 years. Thirty (19%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 18 (12%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 3 | 4 July 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during June 2014 up to and including Sunday 29 June
2014. Available data indicate:
 During the last week (ending 29 June 2014) the number of notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza
suddenly increased to well above the inter-seasonal baseline level.
 The majority of influenza notifications continue to be Influenza A infections. The most frequently reported
Influenza A subtype is A(H1N1)pdm09.
 State-wide influenza testing levels increased during June. The proportion of tests positive for influenza has
increased above the average inter-seasonal baseline.
 General respiratory pathogen testing indicates the non-influenza viruses RSV and Rhinovirus are currently
contributing to influenza-like illness within Tasmania.
...
Since the last report a further 38 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 124 notifications. Twenty-two of these 38 notifications were reported during the most recent week of
reporting; the highest number of weekly notifications since the start of 2014 (see Figure 1). In previous years a
sudden increase in weekly notifications of this level has marked the commencement of an influenza season in
Tasmania.

Of the 124 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 111 (90%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 13 (10%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype2.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (62%) of the 124
influenza notifications since the start of 2014. Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 12 Week ending 20/07/14
Summary
? Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained below baseline levels this week with 3.6 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) also remained below the seasonal threshold.
? From the 172 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 20/7/14) 47 (27%) have been positive
for influenza A, 35 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 4 A(H3N2), 7 untyped and 1 influenza C. This week we received 23
surveillance swabs of which 9 (39%) were positive for influenza A, 4 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 4 untyped and 1 H3N2.
? The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and influenza A. Of the 128
influenza viruses detected so far this year 61 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 55 were A(H3N2), 4 are untyped and 8 were
influenza B.
? This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 3 hospitalisations with influenza A (untyped).
Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 76 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 53 were untyped
influenza A patients, 17 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 6 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
? Of the 62 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 56 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 6 A(H3N2).
? The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 12,263, of which 1,890 (15%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 20TH JULY 2014
KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity continued to increase this week, with A/H1N1 virus predominant.
 Indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners
(GPs), influenza notifications, proportion testing positive and hospitalisations associated with
influenza continued to increase this week.
 ILI activity at sentinel emergency departments (ED) stabilised this week.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in recent weeks have been influenza A/H1N1, with a
fall in the proportion of A/H3 and influenza B viruses detected.
 Respiratory syncytial virus continues to predominate among detections of non-influenza
respiratory viruses.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- July 26th, 2014 there were 12,792 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 4,155, NSW had 3,313, VIC 1,986, SA 1,386, WA had 1,299, NT 312, TAS 173 and ACT 168.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 13, 2014
16th June 2014 ? 29th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 280 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 25 and 26 a total of
15,014 and 15,321 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
149 and 116 notifications in week 25 and 26 respectively.
ILI rates reported in this period increased with 10 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 25 and 26
respectively, compared to 5 and 10 cases per 1000
consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively. For the
same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were slightly higher
at 11 and 9 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure 5)
respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Rural WA.

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 20 July 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 21 July 7:15 and by Thursday 24 July 9:00 we had received 16268 responses
(15925 last week) from 10156 people responding for themselves and 6112 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 2.9 % of
vaccinated participants and 2.9 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 1.9 % of vaccinated participants and 1.8
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9417/16268 (57.9 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3198
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2487 (77.8 %) have received the vaccine.


For more information: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 01 - 21 June to 04 July 2014
Nationally influenza activity has started to increase, with almost all jurisdictions reporting increased activity indicating that the 2014 influenza season has begun.
The 2014 seasonal rise in notifications appears to have started in mid-June 2014.
As at 4 July 2014, there have been 8,757 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 1,440 notifications occurring during the most recent fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has started to increase over the past fortnight, with around 12% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 46 years.
There is no indication of the potential severity of the season.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity is low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has either returned to or is approaching inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In China, influenza activity increased slightly in the southern region and was mostly due to influenza A(H3N2) viruses. In the southern hemisphere, influenza activity was still low.
Following two waves of avian influenza A(H7N9) infections in humans, relatively few cases are currently being reported. All of the cases have been acquired in China, with a small number exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Currently there is no evidence to support sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus. Most human infections are associated with exposure to infected live poultry or contaminated environments.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

Week 30 Ending 27 July 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 27 July 2014, influenza activity continued to increase to high levels
across NSW.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? ILI presentations to EDs continued to increase and
approached the peak levels seen in previous seasons. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical
care wards decreased this week but remained within the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and was well above the
usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating. There was
continued reporting of laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
increasing ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? eight new confirmed influenza admissions were reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally; unlike NSW, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the predominant strain in most
jurisdictions. Generally low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

Queensland

For Period 14-20 July 2014

There were 437 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 42 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 395 Influenza A samples, 12 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 3,734 notifications reported. Of these cases, 545 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 3,189 Influenza A samples, 925 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 66 as A/H3N2.

There have been 437 hospital admissions including 64 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
20 July to 26 July 2014

One-hundred and ninety-seven cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 186 were
characterised as influenza A and 11 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 1,492
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,028 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 88 males and 109 females, with a median age of 29 years. Forty-four (22%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 17 (9%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 3 | 4 July 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during June 2014 up to and including Sunday 29 June
2014. Available data indicate:
 During the last week (ending 29 June 2014) the number of notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza
suddenly increased to well above the inter-seasonal baseline level.
 The majority of influenza notifications continue to be Influenza A infections. The most frequently reported
Influenza A subtype is A(H1N1)pdm09.
 State-wide influenza testing levels increased during June. The proportion of tests positive for influenza has
increased above the average inter-seasonal baseline.
 General respiratory pathogen testing indicates the non-influenza viruses RSV and Rhinovirus are currently
contributing to influenza-like illness within Tasmania.
...
Since the last report a further 38 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 124 notifications. Twenty-two of these 38 notifications were reported during the most recent week of
reporting; the highest number of weekly notifications since the start of 2014 (see Figure 1). In previous years a
sudden increase in weekly notifications of this level has marked the commencement of an influenza season in
Tasmania.

Of the 124 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 111 (90%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 13 (10%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype2.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (62%) of the 124
influenza notifications since the start of 2014. Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 13 Week ending 27/07/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained below baseline levels this week with 4.7 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) also remained below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 191 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 27/7/14) 55 (29%) have been positive
for influenza A, 44 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 4 A(H3N2), 5 untyped, 1 influenza B and 1 influenza C. This week we
received 19 surveillance swabs of which 8 (42%) were positive for influenza A, 7 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 1
influenza B.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and influenza A. Of the 146
influenza viruses detected so far this year 73 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 58 were A(H3N2), 6 are untyped and 9 were
influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 6 hospitalisations, 5 with influenza A (untyped)
and 1 with influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 89 hospitalisations with confirmed
influenza, of which 63 were untyped influenza A patients, 20 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 6 were influenza B, from
the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 65 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 56 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 9 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 14,449, of which 2,136 (15%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 20TH JULY 2014
KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity continued to increase this week, with A/H1N1 virus predominant.
 Indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners
(GPs), influenza notifications, proportion testing positive and hospitalisations associated with
influenza continued to increase this week.
 ILI activity at sentinel emergency departments (ED) stabilised this week.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped in recent weeks have been influenza A/H1N1, with a
fall in the proportion of A/H3 and influenza B viruses detected.
 Respiratory syncytial virus continues to predominate among detections of non-influenza
respiratory viruses.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- August 2nd, 2014 there were 15,832 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 5,149, NSW had 4,521, VIC 2,239, SA 1,621, WA had 1,534, NT 327, ACT 244 and TAS 197.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 13, 2014
16th June 2014 ? 29th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 280 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 25 and 26 a total of
15,014 and 15,321 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
149 and 116 notifications in week 25 and 26 respectively.
ILI rates reported in this period increased with 10 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 25 and 26
respectively, compared to 5 and 10 cases per 1000
consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively. For the
same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were slightly higher
at 11 and 9 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure 5)
respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Rural WA.

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 27 July 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 28 July 1:27 and by Tuesday 29 July 9:00 we had received 14657 responses (14462
last week) from 9157 people responding for themselves and 5500 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 3.2 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.2 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.0 % of vaccinated participants and 2.0
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 8499/14657 (58.0 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 2825
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2216 (78.4 %) have received the vaccine.


For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 02 - 05 July to 18 July 2014

Nationally influenza activity has continued to increase, with almost all jurisdictions reporting increasing activity.
As at 18 July 2014, there have been 11,868 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 2,893 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales and the ACT where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has dropped slightly over the past fortnight, with around 11% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated with influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 43 years.
As yet, there is no clear indication of the overall severity of the season.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity remains low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has returned to inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In the southern hemisphere, there has been a gradual increase in influenza activity.
The WHO has updated their public health risk assessment of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus which concluded that the risk has not changed since the assessment published on 28 February 2014.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

New South Wales

Week 30 Ending 27 July 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 27 July 2014, influenza activity continued to increase to high levels
across NSW.
 Emergency Department surveillance ? ILI presentations to EDs continued to increase and
approached the peak levels seen in previous seasons. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical
care wards decreased this week but remained within the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and was well above the
usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating. There was
continued reporting of laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
increasing ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? eight new confirmed influenza admissions were reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally; unlike NSW, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the predominant strain in most
jurisdictions. Generally low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 21-27 July 2014

There were 699 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 61 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 638 Influenza A samples, 18 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 as A/H3N2.

YTD there were 4,532 notifications reported. Of these cases, 604 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 3,918 Influenza A samples, 1,018 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 73 as A/H3N2.

There have been 586 hospital admissions including 86 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
27 July to 2 August 2014

Two hundred and sixty-three cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 254 were
characterised as influenza A and nine were characterised as influenza B. There have been 1,759
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,130 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 120 males and 143 females, with a median age of 33 years. Sixty-nine (26%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 30 (11%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

*Tasmania
Issue 3 | 4 July 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during July 2014 up to and including Sunday 27 July
2014. Available data indicate:
- Increased activity in July consistent with a typical influenza season
- Most notifications fo Influenza A with A/H1N1(pdm09) dominating
- Above average % positive tests
- RSV and Rhinovirus continue to circulate
...
Since the last report a further 70 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 194 notifications.
...

Of the 194 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 178 (92%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 16 (8%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (60%) of the Influenza notifications since the last report.

Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 14 Week ending 03/08/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained above baseline levels this week with 4.8 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) increased above the seasonal threshold.
 From the 206 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 3/8/14) 62 (30%) have been positive
for influenza A, 46 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 9 A(H3N2), 5 untyped, 1 influenza B and 1 influenza C. This week we
received 15 surveillance swabs of which 7 (47%) were positive for influenza A, 2 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 5
A(H3N2).
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were picornavirus and influenza A. Of the 161
influenza viruses detected so far this year 80 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 62 were A(H3N2), 9 are untyped and 10 were
influenza B.
 Of the 87 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 77 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 10 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 17,413, of which 2,371 (14%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 3RD AUGUST 2014
KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: There are early indications that influenza activity may have peaked, but detections remain
high. Non-influenza respiratory virus activity is declining.
 Indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners
(GPs), notifications, proportion of positive laboratory tests for influenza and influenza-associated
hospitalisations were similar to or showed small declines relative to the previous reporting week.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped were influenza A/H1N1, but there was a relative
increase in A/H3 detections and influenza B continues to circulate at a low level.
 Overall detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses decreased this week, primarily
associated with a marked reduction in respiratory syncytial virus activity.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- August 9th, 2014 there were 19,893 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in QLD with 6,464, NSW had 6,190, VIC 2,618, SA 1,940, WA had 1,832, NT 334, ACT 299 and TAS 216.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 13, 2014
16th June 2014 ? 29th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 280 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 25 and 26 a total of
15,014 and 15,321 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
149 and 116 notifications in week 25 and 26 respectively.
ILI rates reported in this period increased with 10 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 25 and 26
respectively, compared to 5 and 10 cases per 1000
consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively. For the
same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were slightly higher
at 11 and 9 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure 5)
respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Rural WA.

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 3 August 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 4 August 0:31 and by Thursday 7 August 9:00 we had received 16275 responses
(16315 last week) from 10137 people responding for themselves and 6138 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 3.5 % of
vaccinated participants and 3.8 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.2 % of vaccinated participants and 2.5
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9454/16275 (58.1 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3211
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2516 (78.4 %) have received the vaccine.


For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 03 - 19 July to 01 August 2014

Nationally influenza activity has continued to increase, with all jurisdictions except Victoria, reporting increasing activity.
As at 1 August 2014, there have been 18,009 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 5,827 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales and the ACT where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels. The proportion of A(H3N2) in WA has increased in recent weeks however, A(H1N1)pdm09 remains more prevalent.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has dropped slightly over the past fortnight, with around 10% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 42 years.
As yet, there is no clear indication of the overall severity of the season.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity remains low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has returned to inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In the southern hemisphere, there has been a gradual increase of influenza activity.

For more information see Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

Week 32 Ending 10 August 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 10 August 2014, influenza activity in the community across NSW
remained high and laboratory notifications continued to increase.
 Emergency Department (ED) surveillance ? influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations to EDs
increased significantly this week and remained high. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care
wards increased this week and were above the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and was well above the
usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating. Reporting of
laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities remains high.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
high ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? one new confirmed influenza admission was reported.
 Deaths ? 13 deaths linked to influenza reported year during the current influenza season.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally; unlike NSW, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the predominant strain in most
jurisdictions. Generally low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 28 July - 3 August 2014

There were 1,084 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 102 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 982 Influenza A samples, 29 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 0 as A/H3N2. There were 150 hospital admissions including 16 to ICU.

YTD there were 5,692 notifications reported. Of these cases, 731 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 4,961 Influenza A samples, 1,107 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 79 as A/H3N2.

There have been 768 hospital admissions including 111 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia
3 August to 9 August 2014

Three hundred and ninety-two cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 382 were
characterised as influenza A and ten were characterised as influenza B. There have been 2,149
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,282 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 197 males and 195 females, with a median age of 14 years. Eighty (20%)
notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 48 (12%) notifications were for persons
aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 4 | 1 August 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during July 2014 up to and including Sunday 27 July
2014. Available data indicate:
- Increased activity in July consistent with a typical influenza season
- Most notifications fo Influenza A with A/H1N1(pdm09) dominating
- Above average % positive tests
- RSV and Rhinovirus continue to circulate
...
Since the last report a further 70 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 194 notifications.
...

Of the 194 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 178 (92%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 16 (8%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (60%) of the Influenza notifications since the last report.

Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 15 Week ending 10/08/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained above baseline levels this week with 5.9 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) decreased to just below the seasonal threshold.
 From the 233 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 10/8/14) 73 (32%) have been positive
for influenza A, 52 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 15 A(H3N2), 6 untyped, 1 influenza B and 1 influenza C. This week we
received 19 surveillance swabs of which 8 (42%) were positive for influenza A, 7 A(H1N1)pdm2009 and 1
influenza B.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were influenza A. Of the 181 influenza viruses
detected so far this year 92 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 72 were A(H3N2), 7 are untyped and 10 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 12 hospitalisations, 10 with influenza A
(untyped), 1 influenza B and 1 with influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 130
hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 98 were untyped influenza A patients, 25 were A(H1N1)pdm09
and 7 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 101 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 90 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 11 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 22,726, of which 2,825 (12%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 3RD AUGUST 2014
KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: There are early indications that influenza activity may have peaked, but detections remain
high. Non-influenza respiratory virus activity is declining.
 Indicators of influenza activity, including ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners
(GPs), notifications, proportion of positive laboratory tests for influenza and influenza-associated
hospitalisations were similar to or showed small declines relative to the previous reporting week.
 The majority of influenza viruses subtyped were influenza A/H1N1, but there was a relative
increase in A/H3 detections and influenza B continues to circulate at a low level.
 Overall detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses decreased this week, primarily
associated with a marked reduction in respiratory syncytial virus activity.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- August 16th, 2014 there were 24,663 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in NSW with 8,137, QLD had 8,009, VIC 2,825, SA 2,516, WA had 2,196, ACT 383, NT 357 and TAS 240.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 13, 2014
16th June 2014 ? 29th June 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 280 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 25 and 26 a total of
15,014 and 15,321 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications decreased over the period with
149 and 116 notifications in week 25 and 26 respectively.
ILI rates reported in this period increased with 10 and 8
cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 25 and 26
respectively, compared to 5 and 10 cases per 1000
consultations in weeks 23 and 24 respectively. For the
same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates were slightly higher
at 11 and 9 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure 5)
respectively. On a state-by-state basis, it is important to
note the increased ILI rate in Rural WA.

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 10 August 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 11 August 3:23 and by Thursday 14 August 9:00 we had received 16391 responses
(16275 last week) from 10160 people responding for themselves and 6231 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 3.5 % of
vaccinated participants and 4.3 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.2 % of vaccinated participants and 2.9
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9532/16391 (58.2 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3211
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2522 (78.5 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 03 - 19 July to 01 August 2014

Nationally influenza activity has continued to increase, with all jurisdictions except Victoria, reporting increasing activity.
As at 1 August 2014, there have been 18,009 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 5,827 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales and the ACT where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels. The proportion of A(H3N2) in WA has increased in recent weeks however, A(H1N1)pdm09 remains more prevalent.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has dropped slightly over the past fortnight, with around 10% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 42 years.
As yet, there is no clear indication of the overall severity of the season.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity remains low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has returned to inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In the southern hemisphere, there has been a gradual increase of influenza activity.

For more information: Department of Health

 

[gsgs]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Queensland: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/ph/cdb/sru_influenza.asp
Victoria: http://www.vidrl.org.au/surveillance/influenza-surveillance
New South Wales: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/Influenza/Pages/reports.aspx
Western Australia: http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/3/487/3/virus_watch.pm
Australia: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cda-surveil-ozflu-flucurr.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

New South Wales

Week 32 Ending 10 August 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 10 August 2014, influenza activity in the community across NSW
remained high and laboratory notifications continued to increase.
 Emergency Department (ED) surveillance ? influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations to EDs
increased significantly this week and remained high. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care
wards increased this week and were above the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? Influenza activity increased further this week and was well above the
usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating. Reporting of
laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities remains high.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking indicated
high ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? one new confirmed influenza admission was reported.
 Deaths ? 13 deaths linked to influenza reported year during the current influenza season.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza season has commenced
nationally; unlike NSW, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the predominant strain in most
jurisdictions. Generally low influenza activity worldwide.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 11 August - 17 August 2014

There were 1,471 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 136 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,335 Influenza A samples, 38 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 5 as A/H3N2. There were 151 hospital admissions including 14 to ICU.

YTD there were 8,796 notifications reported. Of these cases, 999 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 7,797 Influenza A samples, 1,383 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 117 as A/H3N2.

There have been 1,185 hospital admissions including 158 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

10 August to 16 August 2014

Seven hundred and thirty-nine cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 718 were
characterised as influenza A and 21 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 2,890
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,458 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 341 males and 398 females, with a median age of 33 years. One hundred and
sixty-eight (23%) notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 70 (9%) notifications
were for persons aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 4 | 1 August 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during July 2014 up to and including Sunday 27 July
2014. Available data indicate:
- Increased activity in July consistent with a typical influenza season
- Most notifications fo Influenza A with A/H1N1(pdm09) dominating
- Above average % positive tests
- RSV and Rhinovirus continue to circulate
...
Since the last report a further 70 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 194 notifications.
...

Of the 194 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 178 (92%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 16 (8%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (60%) of the Influenza notifications since the last report.

Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 16 Week ending 17/08/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained above baseline levels this week with 8.5 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) increased above the seasonal threshold to 14.5.
 From the 275 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 17/8/14) 101 (37%) have been
positive for influenza A, 64 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 21 A(H3N2), 11 untyped, 2 influenza B and 3 influenza C. This
week we received 37 surveillance swabs of which 21 (57%) were positive for influenza A, 9 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 5
H3N2, 5 untyped, 1 influenza C and 1 influenza B.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were influenza A. Of the 194 influenza viruses
detected so far this year 111 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 77 were A(H3N2), 6 are untyped and 11 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 12 hospitalisations, 9 with influenza A
(untyped) and 3 with influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 154 hospitalisations
with confirmed influenza, of which 117 were untyped influenza A patients, 30 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 7 were
influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 128 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 117 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 11 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 28,483, of which 2,825 (10%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 17TH AUGUST 2014
KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Most indicators of influenza activity decreased this week. Overall non-influenza respiratory
virus activity is also declining.
? Most indicators of influenza activity, including notifications, proportion of positive laboratory tests
for influenza, Emergency Department ILI attendances and influenza-associated hospitalisations
decreased this week, although ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs)
increased.
? The majority of influenza viruses subtyped were influenza A/H1N1, but there were also a
significant number of A/H3N2 detections, particularly associated with epidemic activity in the
West Kimberley region. Influenza B continues to circulate at a low level.
? Overall detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses decreased this week.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- August 23rd, 2014 there were 30,870 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in NSW with 11,026, QLD had 9,766, SA 3,426, VIC 2,825, WA had 2,578, ACT 536, NT 390 and TAS 323.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

*Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 15, 2014
14th July 2014 ? 27th July 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 265 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 29 and 30 a total of
14,738 and 14,696 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 98
and 149 notifications in week 29 and 30 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period increased with 7 and 10 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 29 and 30 respectively,
compared to 9 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 27
and 28. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates
were higher at 12 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure
5). On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note the
increased ILI rate in Rural WA (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 17 August 2014

This survey was sent on Monday 18 August 4:45 and by Thursday 21 August 9:00 we had received 16253 responses
(16391 last week) from 10124 people responding for themselves and 6129 household members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 4.1 % of
vaccinated participants and 5.0 % of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.8 % of vaccinated participants and 3.5
% of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9475/16253 (58.3 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3156
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2483 (78.7 %) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 03 - 19 July to 01 August 2014

Nationally influenza activity has continued to increase, with all jurisdictions except Victoria, reporting increasing activity.
As at 1 August 2014, there have been 18,009 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 5,827 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 is most common. This trend is consistent across all jurisdictions, except in New South Wales and the ACT where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels. The proportion of A(H3N2) in WA has increased in recent weeks however, A(H1N1)pdm09 remains more prevalent.
Influenza virus strains currently circulating within Australia are similar to the strains included in the 2014 vaccine.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has dropped slightly over the past fortnight, with around 10% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 42 years.
As yet, there is no clear indication of the overall severity of the season.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity remains low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has returned to inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In the southern hemisphere, there has been a gradual increase of influenza activity.

For more information: Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

Week 34 Ending 24 August 2014

For the week ending 24 August 2014, influenza activity in the community across
NSW remained high although there are indications that it may have passed its peak.
 Emergency Department (ED) surveillance ? influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations to ED
decreased this week but remained high. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical care
wards increased this week and were above the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? influenza activity eased slightly this week although was well
above the usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain
predominating. Reporting of laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care
facilities remains high.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking
indicated continuing high ILI activity in NSW.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? five new confirmed influenza admissions were
reported.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the
predominant strain in most jurisdictions (unlike NSW). Moderate influenza activity was
reported across the southern hemisphere.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 18 August - 24 August 2014

There were 1,437 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 141 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,296 Influenza A samples, 52 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 31 as A/H3N2. There were 152 hospital admissions including 16 to ICU.

YTD there were 10,470 notifications reported. Of these cases, 1,161 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 9,309 Influenza A samples, 1,531 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 174 as A/H3N2.

There have been 1,400 hospital admissions including 183 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

South Australia

10 August to 16 August 2014

Seven hundred and thirty-nine cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 718 were
characterised as influenza A and 21 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 2,890
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,458 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 341 males and 398 females, with a median age of 33 years. One hundred and
sixty-eight (23%) notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 70 (9%) notifications
were for persons aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

Tasmania
Issue 4 | 1 August 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during July 2014 up to and including Sunday 27 July
2014. Available data indicate:
- Increased activity in July consistent with a typical influenza season
- Most notifications fo Influenza A with A/H1N1(pdm09) dominating
- Above average % positive tests
- RSV and Rhinovirus continue to circulate
...
Since the last report a further 70 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been notified, taking the 2014
total to 194 notifications.
...

Of the 194 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 178 (92%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 16 (8%) notifications were infections of Influenza B virus (see Table 1). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania make up the largest proportion (60%) of the Influenza notifications since the last report.

Adults aged 30-34 years are the 5-year age group with the greatest
number of notifications since the start of 2014.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 17 Week ending 24/08/14

Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained above baseline levels this week with 8.5 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) remained above the seasonal threshold at 20.7.
 From the 322 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 24/8/14) 118 (37%) have been
positive for influenza A, 75 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 29 A(H3N2), 9 untyped, 2 influenza B and 3 influenza C. This week
we received 46 surveillance swabs of which 17 (37%) were positive for influenza A, 8 A(H1N1)pdm 2009, 7 H3N2,
and 2 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were influenza A. Of the 231 influenza viruses
detected so far this year 131 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 93 were A(H3N2), 7 are untyped and 12 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 5 hospitalisations, 3 with influenza A (untyped)
and 2 with influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported 178 hospitalisations with
confirmed influenza, of which 84 were untyped influenza A patients, 70 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 7 were influenza
B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 163 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 151 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 12 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 34,683, of which 2,825 (8.1%) were from Victoria.

For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 24TH AUGUST 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Most indicators of influenza activity decreased this week. Non-influenza respiratory virus
activity is also declining.
? Most indicators of influenza activity, including notifications, proportion of positive laboratory tests
for influenza, ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and influenza-associated
hospitalisations decreased this week, although Emergency Department ILI presentations and
admissions increased.
? The majority of influenza viruses subtyped were influenza A/H1N1, but there are still a
significant number of A/H3N2 detections, particularly associated with epidemic activity in the
West Kimberley region (41% of A/H3N2 notifications this week). Influenza B continues to
circulate at a low level.
? Detections of all non-influenza respiratory viruses decreased this week.

For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- August 30th, 2014 there were 36,951 confirmed Influenza cases.

The majority of notifications have been in NSW with 13,555, QLD had 11,414, SA 4,659, WA had 2,958, VIC 2,825, ACT 712, NT 434 and TAS 394.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 15, 2014
14th July 2014 ? 27th July 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 265 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 29 and 30 a total of
14,738 and 14,696 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 98
and 149 notifications in week 29 and 30 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period increased with 7 and 10 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 29 and 30 respectively,
compared to 9 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 27
and 28. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates
were higher at 12 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure
5). On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note the
increased ILI rate in Rural WA (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 24 August 2014

Moderate levels of influenza-like illness activity

This survey was sent on Monday, 25 August 2014 at 05:00 AM and by 09:00 AM, Thursday 28 August we had
received 16236 responses (16253 last week) from 10086 people responding for themselves and 6150 household
members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 4.3% of
vaccinated participants and 5.0% of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.8% of vaccinated participants and 3.5%
of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9466/16236 (58.3 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3178
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2499 (78.6%) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 04 - 02 August to 15 August 2014

Across all jurisdictions, seasonal influenza activity has continued to increase, with New South Wales and Queensland reporting the highest levels of activity.
As at 15 August 2014, there have been 29,155 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 10,410 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 remains the predominant influenza virus type in most jurisdictions. In New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, influenza A(H3N2) is the most common subtype and in Western Australia the proportion of A(H3N2) has continued to increase in recent weeks.
The influenza vaccine is likely to provide good coverage against the currently circulating viruses.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has dropped slightly over the past fortnight, with around 10% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 42 years.
The severity of the 2014 influenza season appears to be moderate across most jurisdictions. However, more severe activity is noted in NSW, where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels and affecting people in older age-groups, which has led to a substantial number of outbreaks in aged care facilities.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity remains low. Following the recent northern hemisphere season, influenza activity has returned to inter-seasonal levels across most of these regions. In the southern hemisphere, there has been a gradual increase of influenza activity.

For more information: Department of Health

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Australia Influenza Surveillance 2014

Updated information is indicated with a *

*New South Wales

Week 35 Ending 31 August 2014

Summary:
For the week ending 31 August 2014, influenza activity in the community across
NSW remained high but there were further indications that it has passed its peak.
 Emergency Department (ED) surveillance ? influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations to ED
decreased further this week but remained high. ILI and pneumonia admissions to critical
care wards decreased again this week and were within the usual range.
 Laboratory surveillance ? influenza activity eased slightly this week but remains well above
the usual range for this time of year, with the influenza A(H3N2) strain predominating.
Reporting of laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks in aged care facilities remains high.
 Community illness surveillance ? data collected from eGPS, ASPREN and FluTracking
indicated continuing high ILI activity in NSW however decreasing.
 Hospitalisations surveillance (FluCAN) ? nine new confirmed influenza admissions were
reported.
 Mortality surveillance ? at least 23 deaths linked to laboratory-confirmed influenza reported
during the current influenza season.
 National and International influenza surveillance ? the influenza A(H1N1)pdm strain is the
predominant strain in most jurisdictions (unlike NSW). Moderate influenza activity was
reported across the southern hemisphere.

For more information: NSW Health - Infectious Diseases

*Queensland

For Period 25 August - 31 August 2014

There were 1,245 notifications reported this week. Of these cases, 161 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 1,084 Influenza A samples, 39 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 18 as A/H3N2. There were 123 hospital admissions including 12 to ICU.

YTD there were 11,969 notifications reported. Of these cases, 1,360 were attributed to influenza B virus. Of the 10,609 Influenza A samples, 1,663 were identified as A(H1N1)pdm09 and 221 as A/H3N2.

There have been 1,568 hospital admissions including 205 to ICU.

For more information: QLD Health

*South Australia

24 August to 30 August 2014

One thousand and seventy-four cases of influenza were reported this week. Of these, 1029 were
characterised as influenza A and 45 were characterised as influenza B. There have been 4,946
influenza cases notified year-to-date, compared with 1,978 cases reported for the same period last
year.
Cases comprised of 480 males and 594 females, with a median age of 33 years. Two hundred and
sixty (24%) notifications were for children aged less than 10 years and 160 (15%) notifications were
for persons aged over 65 years.
The influenza chart shows continuing influenza activity in South Australia.

For more information: SA Health

*Tasmania
Issue 5 | 5 August 2014

This report describes influenza activity within Tasmanian during August 2014 up to and including Sunday 31

August 2014. Available data indicate:
 The 2014 influenza season is underway.
 Notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza during August were more than three times higher than
during July.
 The majority of influenza notifications continue to be Influenza A infections. The most frequently reported
Influenza A subtype within Tasmania is A(H1N1)pdm09.
 Data on general respiratory pathogen testing indicate Influenza A virus as currently being the pathogen most
frequently causing influenza-like illness within Tasmania.

Influenza notifications
Tasmanian laboratories are required to notify the Director of Public Health of evidence of influenza infection in
specimens collected from patients. These specimens are usually nose or throat swabs but can also include a blood
sample. The best test for influenza involves PCR1 to detect influenza virus RNA present in a nose or throat swab.

In the five weeks since the last report a further 245 notifications of laboratory-diagnosed influenza have been
notified, taking the 2014 total to 439 notifications. The number of weekly notifications has increased since July, with
the latest peak in activity occurring during the last three weeks of August (see Figure 1). The current level of
notification within Tasmania is consistent with levels during a typical winter influenza season.

Residents from the more populous southern region of Tasmania made up the largest proportion (61%) of influenza
notifications since the last report (see Table 1).
...
Of the 439 influenza notifications received since the start of 2014, 400 (91%) were due to Influenza A virus
infections. The remaining 39 (9%) notifications were infections with Influenza B virus (see Table 2). Some influenza
laboratory isolates undergo further testing to identify subtypes. The most frequently identified Influenza A subtype of
2014 is currently the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype2.
...

For more information: DHHS Tasmania

*Victoria

Report No 18 Week ending 31/08/14
Summary
 Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained above baseline levels this week with 6.2 cases per 1000 patients seen.
Data from the National Home Doctor Service (Victorian data) remained above the seasonal threshold at 18.2.
 From the 365 swabs received from surveillance GPs this season (28/4/14 ? 31/8/14) 145 (40%) have been
positive for influenza A, 86 A(H1N1)pdm2009, 34 A(H3N2), 19 untyped, 3 influenza B and 3 influenza C. This
week we received 43 surveillance swabs of which 27 (63%) were positive for influenza A, 10 A(H1N1)pdm 2009, 4
H3N2, and 12 untyped.
 The majority of viruses detected through routine testing this week were influenza A. Of the 278 influenza viruses
detected so far this year 142 were A(H1N1)pdm09, 111 were A(H3N2), 13 are untyped and 12 were influenza B.
 This week the Influenza Complications Network (FluCAN) reported 12 hospitalisations, 9 with influenza A
(untyped), 1 influenza A(H3N2) and 2 with influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009. Since 11/4/2014 FluCAN have reported
218 hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, of which 109 were untyped influenza A patients, 21 were influenza
A(H3N2), 79 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 9 were influenza B, from the 4 Victorian sentinel hospitals.
 Of the 206 influenza viruses analysed at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
year to date from Victoria, 183 were A(H1N1)pdm09 and 23 A(H3N2).
 The total number of laboratory confirmed notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
(NNDSS) to date was 42,591, of which 5,244 (12.3%) were from Victoria.



For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

*Western Australia

WEEK ENDING 31ST AUGUST 2014

KEY POINTS
INFLUENZA AND INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESSES (ILI)
Summary: Influenza activity appears to have peaked, and may be beginning to decline. Non-influenza
respiratory virus activity was relatively stable this week.
? Indicators of influenza activity, including notifications, proportion of positive laboratory tests for
influenza, ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs), Emergency Department ILI
presentations and influenza-associated hospitalisations decreased this week. Given reporting
delays, however, it is not clear that all indicators are truly decreasing.
? The majority of influenza viruses subtyped were influenza A/H1N1; there are still a significant
number of A/H3N2 detections, although epidemic activity in the West Kimberley region is now
decreasing. Influenza B continues to circulate at a low level.
? Detections of most non-influenza respiratory viruses remained stable this week.



For more information: WA Dept.of Health

*Nationally

For the period to Jan 1- September 6th, 2014 there were 44,797 confirmed Influenza cases. (Ro's note: only 2009 with 59,029 has been higher)

The majority of notifications have been in NSW with 15,492 (higher than 2009 - Ro), QLD had 12,740, SA 5,713, VIC 5,654, WA had 3,392, ACT 845, NT 489 and TAS 472.

For national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN)

No. 15, 2014
14th July 2014 ? 27th July 2014

REPORTING
Reports were received from 265 GPs from 8
states and territories during the reporting
period. During weeks 29 and 30 a total of
14,738 and 14,696 consultations were
made, respectively.

INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased over the period with 98
and 149 notifications in week 29 and 30 respectively. ILI
rates reported in this period increased with 7 and 10 cases
per 1000 consultations in weeks 29 and 30 respectively,
compared to 9 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 27
and 28. For the same reporting period in 2013, ILI rates
were higher at 12 cases per 1000 consultations (see Figure
5). On a state-by-state basis, it is important to note the
increased ILI rate in Rural WA (see Figure 2).

For more information: ASPREN

*Flu Tracking
Flutracking Weekly Interim Report
Week ending 31 August 2014
Moderate levels of influenza-like illness activity

This survey was sent on Monday, 01 September 2014 at 06:53 AM and by 09:00 AM, Thursday 04 September we had
received 15918 responses (16236 last week) from 9930 people responding for themselves and 5988 household
members across Australia.

Across Australia, fever and cough was reported by 4.0% of
vaccinated participants and 4.2% of unvaccinated
participants. Fever, cough and absence from normal duties
was reported by 2.7% of vaccinated participants and 2.7%
of unvaccinated participants.

For participants this week, 9326/15918 (58.6 %) have
received the seasonal vaccine so far. Of the 3118
participants who identified as working face-to-face with
patients, 2442 (78.3%) have received the vaccine.

For more information: Flu Tracking

*Australian influenza report 2013 - Current report:

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 05 - 16 August to 29 August 2014

Across most jurisdictions, seasonal influenza activity appears to have peaked in recent weeks with the exception of South Australia and the Northern Territory where activity continues to rise.
As at 29 August 2014, there have been 42,354 cases of laboratory confirmed influenza reported, with 12,279 notifications occurring during the report fortnight.
Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Of those viruses where subtyping data are available, A(H1N1)pdm09 remains the predominant influenza virus type in most jurisdictions. In New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, influenza A(H3N2) is the most common virus type.
The influenza vaccine is likely to provide good coverage against the currently circulating viruses.
The rate of influenza associated hospitalisations has remained stable over the past fortnight, with around 11% of cases admitted directly to ICU. The majority of hospital admissions have been associated influenza A infections and the median age of cases is 45 years.
The severity of the 2014 influenza season appears to be moderate across most jurisdictions. However, more severe activity is noted in NSW, where influenza A(H3N2) is circulating at higher levels and affecting people in older age-groups, which has led to a substantial number of outbreaks in aged care facilities.
The WHO has reported that globally influenza activity has continued to increase in the southern hemisphere and has remained low elsewhere.

For more information: Department of Health