tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
THE Brits spent winter fighting off an old foe while the Yanks? elderly had the most to lose in their traditional flu season.
But Australians are struggling with both, with the return of swine flu and the North American strain of H3N2, in what one Sunshine Coast medical expert says is our worst flu season in two years.
Former head of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association, Sunshine Coast doctor Mason Stevenson, predicted the Coast would be hit hard this winter after last year enjoying one of the quietest flu seasons he could remember.
?We have seen a steady flow of patients with influenza with a significant surge in the last month,? Dr Stevenson said.
The cause is two predominant strains ? the return of swine flu and a North American strain of H3N2, which respectively target the youth and the elderly.
Dr Stevenson said the paranoia associated with swine flu from two years ago had well and truly subsided, opening the window for the killer flu to hit hard again in 2011.
The 51-year-old said he had not suffered a flu since he was 19, when he remembered being curled up in a ball for five days thinking he was going to die.
?Even the healthiest young adults can catch strains of the flu if they are unprotected,? Dr Stevenson said.
?Most of those at risk, like the elderly, have already received their free flu vaccination but it is never too late.
?The success of the influenza vaccine varies between 70 and 90% but it takes two weeks for it to begin to officially start its protection.?
That might explain how Bli Bli newsagent Mark Stephens got the flu one week after receiving his flu vaccination.
The 52-year-old said his sinus troubles kept him upright for two nights straight.
Ear and then gland infections settled in.
The strain of flu was so severe Mr Stephens was forced to take five days off work before it left, only for it to return two more times.
?The public need to be more aware about their hygiene and people do have a responsibility to isolate themselves from others as much as possible,? he said.
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2011/07/03/big-surge-in-flu-victims-sunshine-coast/
But Australians are struggling with both, with the return of swine flu and the North American strain of H3N2, in what one Sunshine Coast medical expert says is our worst flu season in two years.
Former head of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association, Sunshine Coast doctor Mason Stevenson, predicted the Coast would be hit hard this winter after last year enjoying one of the quietest flu seasons he could remember.
?We have seen a steady flow of patients with influenza with a significant surge in the last month,? Dr Stevenson said.
The cause is two predominant strains ? the return of swine flu and a North American strain of H3N2, which respectively target the youth and the elderly.
Dr Stevenson said the paranoia associated with swine flu from two years ago had well and truly subsided, opening the window for the killer flu to hit hard again in 2011.
The 51-year-old said he had not suffered a flu since he was 19, when he remembered being curled up in a ball for five days thinking he was going to die.
?Even the healthiest young adults can catch strains of the flu if they are unprotected,? Dr Stevenson said.
?Most of those at risk, like the elderly, have already received their free flu vaccination but it is never too late.
?The success of the influenza vaccine varies between 70 and 90% but it takes two weeks for it to begin to officially start its protection.?
That might explain how Bli Bli newsagent Mark Stephens got the flu one week after receiving his flu vaccination.
The 52-year-old said his sinus troubles kept him upright for two nights straight.
Ear and then gland infections settled in.
The strain of flu was so severe Mr Stephens was forced to take five days off work before it left, only for it to return two more times.
?The public need to be more aware about their hygiene and people do have a responsibility to isolate themselves from others as much as possible,? he said.
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2011/07/03/big-surge-in-flu-victims-sunshine-coast/