BROUGHT TO OUR SNEEZE

Worst flu season in three years as danger strain emerges

THE flu season is biting hard in the Far North with health officials dealing with the worst season for the sickness in at least three years.

It comes as a case of the potentially dangerous Haemophilus influenzae type b has been confirmed in an adult living in the Far North.

The bacterial disease, also known as HIB or the “bacterial flu”, usually affects children under the age of five years.

Passed on through respiratory droplets, it can cause permanent brain damage, and swelling of the airways that can lead to suffocation.

It can also infect the lungs, blood, joints, bones and the thin membrane that covers the heart.

Before the HIB vaccine was developed, the disease was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis among children.

On average, there are four cases of HIB identified across Queensland each year.

A Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman said the latest case of the disease was reported from the Cairns health district – between Tully, Cow Bay and Croydon – about two weeks ago.

She said the health service could not provide specific details about the case, due to confidentiality reasons, but highlighted that the bacterium that caused the illness was naturally-occurring and sporadic.

“Children receive vaccinations … at two, four and six months, with a booster at 12 months,” she said.

Queenslanders have also been urged to make sure their influenza vaccinations are up to date, as the state battles one of its worst influenza seasons in recent years.

Latest figures from CHHHS show there had been 712 confirmed influenza cases in the Cairns region so far this year, a 36 per cent increase from the total amount (521) of flu cases last year, and 110 per cent rise from 2015 (338 cases).

Townsville based public health unit director Dr Steven Donohue said there was usually a spike in influenza cases during the winter flu season, from June to August. But he said the rise of confirmed cases across the Cairns health district was mainly an indication that flu season had arrived a few weeks earlier this year.

“It’s not too late to be immunised,” he said.

“I’d urge those who have not had an influenza vaccination this year to make booking an appointment a priority.”

Overall, there had been 19,216 confirmed flu cases statewide this year.