Australia- Torres Strait mayor fears swine flu spread

[Sally Furniss]

Torres Strait mayor fears swine flu spread


There have been more than 70 confirmed cases of the disease in the Torres Strait.

Torres Strait Islands Regional Council mayor Fred Gela says Indigenous people are more at risk from swine flu.

"I'm definitely concerned about the spread of swine flu in the Torres Strait as we have a very young population in the Torres Strait, not to mention the high rate of chronic diseases in the Torres Strait as well," he said.

An indigenous health lobbyist says authorities should have acted more quickly to contain an outbreak of swine flu on Palm Island.

A 19-year-old island woman remains in intensive care in Townsville hospital after she lost her unborn baby to swine flu complications.

There are reports almost 400 residents, or one in 10 people on the island, could have the virus.

Gracelyn Smallwood is calling for urgent action from the state and federal governments to stop the spread of swine on Palm Island

"The first group of people that should of been given urgent culturally appropriate primary health care to and very seriously told about the swine flu is the Indigenous population nationally," she said.

Ms Smallwood says there are many questions that need answers.

"If heath professionals on the island know that there's that many people, why there hasn't been urgent action by the Queensland Health Department and the Federal Health Department," she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/22/2633311.htm

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: aUSTRALIA - Torres Strait mayor fears swine flu spread

Re: aUSTRALIA - Torres Strait mayor fears swine flu spread

Swine flu scares at Palm Island

Di Bain reported this story on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 12:14:00

PETER CAVE: The Mayor of Palm Island is worried that swine flu will ravage the community and has likened its living conditions - that's Palm Island's living conditions - to the poorer areas of Mexico. Alf Lacey says the Government's approach to tackling swine flu isn't working for the Indigenous population at Palm Island and that a large number of community members are getting sick.

In drafting its guidelines for swine flu, the Federal Government issued information specifically targeted toward Aboriginal people. But one doctor says that Aboriginal populations need one to one education.

Di Bain reports.

DI BAIN: Queensland health authorities say they don't know how many people at Palm Island have swine flu but reports that 400 out of a population of 3,500 don't come as a surprise to the local mayor Alf Lacey.

ALF LACEY: That's the most worrying thing for me, it's that in terms of, and certainly my council, is that because of the close knit community of Palm Island and how we live and things like that, then certainly I wouldn't be surprised that we'd reach those, we'd reach those numbers you know.

DI BAIN: Yesterday 19-year-old Palm Island local Alma Palmer contracted the virus and had to be airlifted to hospital in nearby Townsville. She was pregnant and has lost her baby.

The head of Queensland Health Jeanette Young wasn't available to be interviewed for The World Today on the topic. Mr Lacy says he's worried more people will get sick and health authorities aren't being forthcoming with information.

ALF LACEY: When we look at our living conditions and we have in excess of about 15 people living in a three bedroom home, which you wouldn't find that in mainstream communities you know.

DI BAIN: The Federal Government issued its swine flu guidelines in June. It followed advice from the World Health Organization which put Indigenous populations at high risk.

The Australian Medical Association's Andrew Pesce says that means Aboriginal groups should have immediate access to Tamiflu.

ANDREW PESCE: They did present with flu like symptoms, then the medical people caring for those patients should consider early administration of antivirals such as Tamiflu to minimise the chance that they come down with a very severe variant of the disease.

DI BAIN: Mr Lacey says he only found out that Tamiflu was available at Palm Island on Monday and he's concerned other locals who can't read or write have no idea about the virus.

ALF LACEY: Given our living condition, and I'll keep on coming back to our living condition, and our social standards typically on Palm and a lot of Aboriginal communities across the country, then naturally we may end up in a situation where, like the poverty stricken communities in Mexico, you know, where their people were more vulnerable - you know the South American Indians, you know, certainly who are Indigenous people.

DI BAIN: Queensland Health says it's set up flu clinics at Palm Island to treat residents. Authorities are no longer counting how many people present with the flu, instead they're keeping numbers on admissions to hospital and deaths.

Professor Michael Gracey is a paediatrician who represents the not-for-profit group Unity of First People of Australia.

He says pandemics like swine flu have the potential to ravage many remote communities in Australia and often the Government takes the wrong approach to getting its warnings out.

MICHAEL GRACEY: That's a very good point that the mayor has made, and it is very important also for mainstream health professionals, in other words Western doctors and nurses and public health officials, to communicate better that perhaps the best way to get messages across to these high risk people, like Indigenous communities and the high risk groups within Indigenous communities that I've identified, are one on one.

PETER CAVE: Professor Michael Gracey, ending that report from Di Bain.

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