NSW cops brunt as influenza cases skyrocket across the nation
NSW has recorded three times the number of confirmed flu cases than any other state so far this year, national disease surveillance figures reveal.
The state accounted for more than 100,000 of the 187,431 notifications of influenza to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) up to July 3.
The fortnightly Australian Influenza Surveillance Report shows the state and territory breakdown of flu cases to date. They include:
Tasmania – 2080 notifications.
NSW – 100,851 notifications.
Victoria – 33,342 notifications.
Queensland – 32,231 notifications.
South Australia – 7346 notifications.
Western Australia – 4618 notifications,
Northern Territory – 4569 notifications.
ACT – 2394 notifications.
Per capita, the influenza notification rate has been highest in the Northern Territory (1854.8 per 100,000 population) and New South Wales (1231.5 per 100,000 population).
In the year to date there had been 113 influenza-associated deaths reported to the NNDSS.
“All deaths were associated with influenza A, of which 83 per cent were influenza A (unsubtyped), 16 per cent were influenza A (H3N2), and 1 per cent were influenza A (H1N1),” the report states.
“The median age of deaths notified was 84 years.”
Aussies have been urged to voluntarily mask up and work from home if sick to avoid the flu, common cold, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Covid, which is on the rise around the country.
The latest national Covid report showed there were 43,491 new cases in the 24 hour prior to July 15, bringing the estimated number of active cases to 328,080. The death toll stands at 10,582.