SHARP RISE IN FLU

SOARING RATES IN SUMMER:

INDIGENOUS people in the Far North will receive free influenza vaccinations as the region battles soaring rates of summer flu.

The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has recorded 344 cases of labconfirmed flu since January 1. The yearly average is 63.

Statewide, there has been almost 2600 cases of flu confirmed by health officials since the start of the year, compared with the yearly average of 881 for the same period in the previous five years.

Queensland Health’s Jonathan Malo said it was the highest number of summer flu cases since 2014.

“We must remain vigilant because, as we’ve seen in the past, flu can occur at any time and every flu season can be different,” he said.

He advised Far North Queenslanders to take precautions to prevent the spread of the flu, particularly by staying home when ill.

“For many, the flu causes moderate symptoms that ease after a few days, but for others, it can lead to severe illness and sometimes even death,” he said.

“Children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are the most at risk.”

The Federal Government will ensure 170,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents are vaccinated against the flu for free and additionally provide a $12 million boost for a national immunisation education campaign.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said seasonal influenza vaccines would be available at no cost through the National Immunisation Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents for the first time.

FOR OTHERS, IT CAN LEAD TO SEVERE ILLNESS AND SOMETIMES EVEN DEATH ... CHILDREN, PREGNANT WOMEN, THE ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WITH COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE THE MOST AT RISK JONATHAN MALO, QLD HEALTH