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Australia’s Flying Doctors Target Aborigines Hit by Swine Flu
By Ed Johnson
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service is evacuating Aborigines hit by swine flu from remote northern communities as health officials warn the indigenous population is more vulnerable to the virus.
With Aboriginal settlements often hundreds of kilometers along dirt roads from the nearest medical center, people with flu symptoms and suffering complications are being flown out for treatment, said Vicki Krause, director of the Centre for Disease Control in the Northern Territory.
Aborigines are deemed more at risk from the H1N1 flu strain as many have underlying health problems such as morbid obesity, diabetes and liver disease, the government says.
Radio adverts translated into six indigenous languages are being broadcast from today across the Territory with advice on recognizing symptoms and what to do if people fall sick.
“Thinking we are going to stop the spread is not realistic,” Krause said in a telephone interview. “We want to protect those most at risk.”
Australia reported its first swine flu death on June 19 when a 26-year-old Aboriginal man from a remote community died. The country, which has registered more than 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus and seven deaths, is focusing on treating the most vulnerable, including pregnant women and those with respiratory disease, heart and renal disease, diabetes and morbid obesity.
Poorest, Disadvantaged
Aborigines remain the poorest and most disadvantaged group in Australian society, more than 200 years after Europeans settled the nation in 1788. Their life expectancy is 17 years less than other Australians and they are three times more likely to experience coronary problems, according to the Australian Medical Association.
Some aboriginal rights campaigners say many indigenous settlements in remote communities are more akin to the Third World than a modern industrialized nation.
There are about 400,000 indigenous Australians, who make up 2 percent of the population.
Aborigines account for about 30 percent of the Northern Territory’s population of more than 200,000 people. Confirmed cases there stand at 177 and 17 are being treated in hospitals in Alice Springs, Darwin, the state capital, and in Tennant Creek, according to the Department of Health and Families.
Those in hospital are “predominantly indigenous,” said Krause. “If people develop shortness of breath or complications, then bringing them in is the attitude of the Flying Doctors,” she added.
Health authorities have sent supplies of antiviral medicines, such as Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu to remote communities, she said. The medicine helps reduce the severity and duration of flu, including the new H1N1 strain.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 29, 2009 22:44 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a.pS4skn2xpg
By Ed Johnson
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service is evacuating Aborigines hit by swine flu from remote northern communities as health officials warn the indigenous population is more vulnerable to the virus.
With Aboriginal settlements often hundreds of kilometers along dirt roads from the nearest medical center, people with flu symptoms and suffering complications are being flown out for treatment, said Vicki Krause, director of the Centre for Disease Control in the Northern Territory.
Aborigines are deemed more at risk from the H1N1 flu strain as many have underlying health problems such as morbid obesity, diabetes and liver disease, the government says.
Radio adverts translated into six indigenous languages are being broadcast from today across the Territory with advice on recognizing symptoms and what to do if people fall sick.
“Thinking we are going to stop the spread is not realistic,” Krause said in a telephone interview. “We want to protect those most at risk.”
Australia reported its first swine flu death on June 19 when a 26-year-old Aboriginal man from a remote community died. The country, which has registered more than 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus and seven deaths, is focusing on treating the most vulnerable, including pregnant women and those with respiratory disease, heart and renal disease, diabetes and morbid obesity.
Poorest, Disadvantaged
Aborigines remain the poorest and most disadvantaged group in Australian society, more than 200 years after Europeans settled the nation in 1788. Their life expectancy is 17 years less than other Australians and they are three times more likely to experience coronary problems, according to the Australian Medical Association.
Some aboriginal rights campaigners say many indigenous settlements in remote communities are more akin to the Third World than a modern industrialized nation.
There are about 400,000 indigenous Australians, who make up 2 percent of the population.
Aborigines account for about 30 percent of the Northern Territory’s population of more than 200,000 people. Confirmed cases there stand at 177 and 17 are being treated in hospitals in Alice Springs, Darwin, the state capital, and in Tennant Creek, according to the Department of Health and Families.
Those in hospital are “predominantly indigenous,” said Krause. “If people develop shortness of breath or complications, then bringing them in is the attitude of the Flying Doctors,” she added.
Health authorities have sent supplies of antiviral medicines, such as Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu to remote communities, she said. The medicine helps reduce the severity and duration of flu, including the new H1N1 strain.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 29, 2009 22:44 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a.pS4skn2xpg