Another superflu shocker looming

FEARS of another superflu season have risen after a record 25,000 Australians were hit by the virus in the past four months.

The unusual summer outbreak has raised questions about whether a second free flu jab should be provided each year.

It has also led to urgent calls for pregnant women to get vaccinated now to protect themselves against the high levels of flu in circulation.

“Pregnant women are at risk,” Griffith University flu expert Paul Van Buynder said.

“You are making a baby and have new red and white cells and a lot of what your body is doing is focused on the foetus,” he said.

“If you get the flu while pregnant you are more likely to go to hospital and more likely to die and lose the baby.”

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy yesterday announced the release of this year’s flu vaccine, available from April.

This year there is protection against a new A strain (H3N2) and a new strain for the B Victoria lineage in the vaccine.

Prof Van Buynder is worried last year’s mild flu season will mean people won’t bother getting immunised this year.

“We need a message that says do not be complacent, go out and get vaccinated,” he said. Prof Murphy said it was important to get the flu shot annually, as the virus changed each year.

A spokeswoman for Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said a record 11 million Australians got a flu shot last year – nearly a third more than 2017.

In 2018, 58,824 cases of influenza were reported, compared with nearly 250,000 cases in 2017.

Protection from the annual flu jab starts to wear off after four months and this year’s free flu jab won’t be distributed until the start of April.

Prof Van Buynder said he recommended people with lung conditions get two a year.